BV  2625  .M5  1906 
Missionary  Conference  on 

Behalf  of  the  Mohammedan 
Methods  of  mission  work 

amona  Moslems 


METHODS   OF   MISSION 
WORK   AMONG    MOSLEMS 


For  Private  Circulation  Only 


Methods  of  iviission 
Work  Among  Moslems 


Being  those   Papers  read  at  the   First 

Missionary  Conference  on  behalf  of  the 

Mohammedan    World    held    at   Cairo 

April  4th-9th,  1 906, 

and  the  discussions  thereon,  which  by 
order  of  the  Conference  were  not  to 
be  issued  to  the  public,  but  were  to  be 
privately  printed  for  the  use  of  mis- 
sionaries and  the  friends  of  missions 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


London 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,   i  906,  by 
FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTIOK 

liev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.  D. 
Officers,  Delegates,  Program,   Appeals, 

I.  Relation  of  Missions  to  Moslems  and  Missions 

TO  Pagans 

Dr.  J.  A.  Lepsius. 

II.  How  TO  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems 

Rev.  W.  Goldsack. 

III.  "Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems 

Bev.  T.  Grahame  Bailey,  B.  D 

IV.  Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo 

(a)  The  Western  or  Government  School  Men 
Eev.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  B.  A. 

(6)  The  Eastern  or  Azhar  University  Men 
Eev.  D.  M.  Thornton,  31.  A. 


7 
12 

23 
29 
41 
59 


V. 

Literature  for  Moslems       .... 
Eev.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  D.  D. 

.      79 

VI. 

Medical  Missions • 

By  Various  Medical  Missionaries. 

.     101 

VII. 

Women's  Work 

By  Various  Women  Missionaries. 

.     110 

VIII. 

Converts  and  Backsliders  .... 
Eev.  John  Van  Ess. 

.     128 

IX. 

Conditions  of  Baptism          .... 
Eev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D. 

,     138 

X. 

How  to  Win  Mosleji  Races 

Eev.  G.  F.  Rerrick,  D.  D. 

,     158 

XI. 

Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine 
Eev.  W.  Hooper,  D.  D. 
5 

.     173 

6  Contents 

XII.  CONTEOVEESY  IN  ALL  ITS  BEARINGS  .  .  .      192 

Rev.  W.  A.  Shedd. 

XIII.  The  Need  foe  Peayke  and  Saceifice       .        .    205 

Rev.  W.  Dickins. 

XIV.  Peepaeation  of  Woekebs  for  Work  Among 

Moslems 211 

The  Right  Rev.  G.  A.  Lefroy,  D.  D.,  Bishop 
of  Lahore. 

XV.  The  Student  Movement  and  Islam        .        .    231 

Rev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  tliougLt  of  a  world's  conference  to  discuss  the 
problem  of  Moslem  evangelization  had  no  doubt  oc- 
curred to  more  than   one  of  the  many  missionaries 
labouring-  in  Moslem  lands,  but  the  proposal  to  hold  a 
conference  in  the  year  1906,  which  should  gather  to- 
gether,  if  possible,  representatives  from  all  Moslem 
fields,  to  discuss  this  problem,  originated  with  the  Eev. 
S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D.,  of  the  Arabian  Mission  at  Bah- 
rein.    This  proposal  was  first  discussed  privately  at 
Mussoorie,  in  India,  and  later  on  at  the  Decennial  Con- 
ference of  missions,  held  in  Madras.     Correspondence 
with  the  American  Mission  in  Cairo,  Egypt,  resulted 
in  a  cordial  invitation  to  meet  there.    Final  plans  were 
matured  by  Dr.  Zwemer  and  the  Eev.  Dr.  H.  U.  Weit- 
brecht,  who  together  drew  up  a  tentative  program  and 
created  a  program  committee,  which  completed  the 
work  thus  begun.     Later  on  an  American  advisory 
committee  was  established,  which  aided  in  carrying 
out  the  preliminary  arrangements  in  various  ways. 
By  correspondence    the  various  missionary  societies 
were  invited  to  send  representatives  to  a  conference  to 
be  held  April  4th-8th  in  Cairo  in  Egypt.    At  the  same 
time  the  various  persons  suggested  as  suitable  to  write 
upon  the   subjects  of  the  program,   were  persuaded 
to  undertake  the  task  assigned  them.     From  the  very 
first  there  was  manifest  unanimity  among  all  the  mis- 

7 


8  Introduction 

sionaries  and  societies  concerned,  filling  all  hearts  with 
the  assurance  that  the  proposed  conference  had  the 
divine  approval. 

The  program,  as  finally  adopted,  provided  for 
the  extension  of  the  conference  over  a  period  of  six 
days  ;  April  4-9.  The  two  committees  on  program 
and  arrangements  were  constituted  an  executive  com- 
mittee to  control  the  business  of  the  conference.  The 
officers  ofthis  committee  were  Eev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D., 
chairman;  Eev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.  D.,  secretary, 
and  Rev.  John  Giffeu,  D.  D.,  treasurer.  At  the  time  ap- 
pointed, delegates  to  the  number  of  sixty-two  were 
found  to  be  present,  not  counting  visiting  members  to 
the  number  of  about  sixty.  They  represented  twenty- 
nine  missionary  societies  of  the  Protestant  Christian 
world,  and  even  a  greater  number  of  missions  estab- 
lished in  the  Moslem  lands  of  Asia,  Africa  and  IMalay- 
sia.  Some  of  the  delegates  appointed  were  unable  to 
attend.  A  few  of  those  appointed  to  prepare  papei-s 
for  the  conference  were  unable  to  attend,  but  these, 
with  few  exceptions,  sent  their  papers  to  be  read  by 
others. 

On  the  evening  preceding  the  opening  of  the  confer- 
ence, a  prayer-meeting  was  held  to  ask  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  the  meetings  of  conference.  This  prayer- 
meeting  voiced  what  may  be  called  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  assembly.  Throughout  the  meetings  were  deeply 
spiritual  ;  prayer  and  praise  preceded  and  followed  al- 
most every  subject  discussed. 

The  place  of  meeting  was  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  house,  the  Bait  Arabi  Pasha,  a  place  redolent 


Introduction  9 

in  historic  memories.  For  prudential  reasons,  tlie 
executive  committee  determined  to  admit  none  but  the 
delegates  and  such  other  friends  as  might  be  given 
permission  to  attend.  All  visitors  were  supplied  with 
tickets  entitling  them  to  attend. 

At  the  hour  appointed  on  Wednesday,  April  4th, 
the  conference  assembled.  The  following  officers  were 
elected:  Eev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D.,  chairman  ;  Eev. 
H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.  D.,  vice-chairman;  Rev.  John 
Giffen,  D.  D.,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Eev.  W.  E. 
Lowther  and  Eev.  E.  Maclnues,  clerks. 

An  interesting  event  was  the  introduction  of  the 
delegates,  each  one  arising  at  the  call  of  the  roll  and 
indicating  his  or  her  field  and  church  relationship.  A 
list  of  the  delegates  and  the  program  of  events  are 
given  below.  The  addresses  were  read  in  the  order 
given.  After  each  subject  had  been  presented  by  the 
reading  of  the  papers,  an  opportunity  was  given  for 
question  and  remark.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
comparatively  little  of  what  was  said  during  the  dis- 
cussions upon  the  papers  was  preserved  in  a  form  that 
could  be  used  in  the  report.  Portions  of  the  remarks 
made  were  excluded  from  the  report  by  the  speakers  or 
by  the  editorial  committee.  This  was  felt  to  be  neces- 
sary for  prudential  reasons.  At  all  times  these  discus- 
sions were  characterized  by  the  utmost  good  feeling.  It 
was  decided  by  the  conference,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  executive  committee,  to  publish  the  papers  in  two 
parts  :  the  historical  and  statistical  papers  to  be  pub- 
lished in  a  volume  to  be  entitled  TJie  Mohammedan 
World  of  To-Day;  the  remaining  papers  with  discus- 


lo  Introduction 

sions,  resolutions,  etc.,  to  be  printed  for  private  cir- 
culation  only.  Those,  therefore,  who  desire  to  read  the 
papers  uot  Ibuud  in  this  volume  may  do  so  by  securing 
the  volume  akeady  mentioned  and  published  by  the 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  what  have  been  the 
benefits  resulting  from  this  conference  ?  In  reply,  we 
would  say : 

First,  we  believe  we  have  now  a  more  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  Moslem  missionary  problem.  The 
vastness  and  hopefulness  of  the  field  have  loomed  up 
before  the  church  as  never  before. 

Again,  much  has  been  done  to  secure  uniformity  in 
methods  in  evangelistic  effort.  Many  mistakes,  born 
of  inexperience  and  ignorance  of  Moslem  i)eoples, 
have  been  indicated.  The  effect  should  be  greater 
efficiency  in  the  work  all  along  the  line. 

Still  further,  the  conference  has  indicated  a  way  by 
which  greater  efficiency  in  the  production  and  publica- 
tion of  a  literature  for  Moslems  can  be  attained.  Prac- 
tical efforts  have  already  been  inaugurated  to  secure 
a  world-wide  movement  in  this  direction. 

Another  result  of  this  conference  should  be  the 
awakening  of  the  church  to  a  realizing  sense  of  her 
duty  to  the  Moslem  world.  She  should  see  that  in 
Islam  she  has  her  only  rival  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world.  She  should  awake  to  realize  the  urgency  of 
her  duty  to  the  millions  of  ignorant  savages  in  Africa, 
the  millions  of  the  depressed  classes  in  India  and  China 
and  so  forestall  their  conversion  to  Islam.  This  cannot 
altogether  be  accomplished,  but  much  can  be  done  to 


Introduction  1 1 

lessen  the  evil.  The  day  seems  near  at  hand  when 
those  millions  of  idolaters  will  arrange  themselves  un- 
der the  opposing  standards  of  Islam  and  Christianity. 
The  lesson  of  this  conference  is  that  the  work  of  evan- 
gelization should  be  advanced  all  along  the  ordinary 
lines  of  missionary  effort,  and  that  a  definite  work  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  Moslems  should  be  undertaken 
by  all  societies.  Men  and  women,  specially  fitted  for 
this  work,  should  be  sent  forth  into  every  Moslem  land 
without  delay,  who  by  tactful  effort  should  seek  es- 
pecially to  win  the  Moslems  back  to  the  allegiance  of 
Christ  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Lastly,  this  conference  filled  all  Christian  hearts  in 
Cairo  with  new  hope  and  courage.  Is  it  too  much  to 
expect  that  this  joyful  hope  will  also  fill  the  hearts  of 
God's  people  everywhere?  We  do  not  believe  any 
Christian  can  read  the  papers  now  published,  without 
feeling  in  his  heart  a  new  joy  in  the  belief  that  God  is 
answering  the  prayer  of  Abraham  for  his  son  Ishmael : 
''Oh,  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee."  (Gen. 
17 :  18.) 

"Oh,  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee."  (Gen. 
17  :  18.) 

The  editorial  committee  desires  to  express  on  behalf 
of  the  conference  most  hearty  thanks  to  the  Eev.  S.  W. 
Gentle- Cackett,  secretary  of  the  Bible  Lands  Missions' 
Aid  Society,  who  with  the  consent  of  his  society  has 
made  a  speedy  publication  of  these  paj)ers  possible  for 
pledging  £100  for  that  purpose. 

E.  M.  W. 


Officers  and  Committees  of  Conference 

Officers 
Chairman,  Eev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D. 
Vice- Chairman,  Eev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.  D. 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Eev.  John  Giffeu,  D.  D. 
Clerics,  Eev.  W.  E.  Lowther,  and  Eev.  E.  M.  Mac- 
Innes. 

Committee  on  Program 
Eev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.  D.  (Am.  Pres.,  India). 
Eev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.  D.  (C.  M.  S.,  India). 
Eev.    Milton  H.    Marshall  (Asst.   Sec.  N.  A.  M., 
London). 
Eev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D.  (E.  C.  Am.,  Arabia). 

Committee  on  Local  Arrangements 
Eev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D.  (Am.  Pres.  Syria). 
Eev.  Douglas  M.  Thornton,  M.  A.  (C.  M.  S.,  Cairo). 
Eev.  J.  P.  Pennings  (Dutch  Mission,  Calioub,  Egypt). 
Eev.  John  Giffen,  D.  D.  (U.  P.,  Cairo). 

Executive  Committee  (Standing) 
Eev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D. 
Eev.  John  Giffen,  D.  D. 
Eev.  M.  H.  Marshall. 
Eev.  J.  S.  Timpany,  M.  D. 
Eev.  D.  M.  Thornton,  M.  A. 
Bishop  F.  W.  Warne,  D.  D. 
Eev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.  D. 
Eev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.  D. 
Eev.  F.  Wurz. 
Eev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.  D. 


List  of  Delegates  to  Cairo  Conference 

Eev.  George  Alexander,  D.D.,  American  Presbyterian 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions,    New  York  City, 

V.  S.  A. 
Eev.  J.  E.  Alexander,  D.D.,  American  TJ.  P.  Mission, 

Assiut,  Egypt. 
Eev.   W.   B.    Anderson,    American    U.   P.   Mission, 

Sialkote,  Punjab,  North  India. 
Eev.  Johannes  Awetaranian,  Deutsche  Orient  Mission, 

Schumla,  Bulgaria. 

E.  C.  Carter,  Esq.,  National  Secretary,  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
86,  College  Street,  Calcutta,  India. 

Eev.  J.  S.  Chandler,  American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, Madras,  South  India. 

Eev.  A.  A.  Cooper,  M.A.,  B.  &  F.  B.  S.,  Alexandria, 
Egypt. 

Eev.  W.  Dickins,  North  African  Mission,  33,  Sharia 
Haggari,  Alexandria. 

Eev.  C.  A.  Dodds,  Eeformed  Presbyterian  Mission, 
Messina,  Asia  Minor. 

Eev.  W.  K.  Eddy,  American  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  Sidon,  Syria. 

G.  Sherwood  Eddy,  Esq.,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Madras,  South 
India. 

Eev.  James  Enderlin,  German  Pioneer  Mission,  As- 
suan,  Upper  Egypt. 

Eev.  S.  G.  Ewing,   D.D.,   American  U.  P.  Mission, 
Cairo,  Egypt. 

"W.  T.  Fairman,  Esq.,  North  African  Mission,  Shebin- 
el-Kom,  Egypt. 

Eev.  Thos.  J.  Finney,  American  TJ.  P.  Mission,  Al- 
exandria, Egypt. 

13 


14     List  of  Delegates  to  Cairo  Conference 

Miss  M.  T.  Maxwell  Ford,  Dr.  D.  M.  Steam's  Bible 

Classes,  Safed,  Galilee,  Palestine. 

Eev.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  C.  M.  S.,  Bait  Arabi  Pasha. 
Cairo. 

Eev.  S.  W.  Gentle- Cackett,  Bible  Lands  Missions'  Aid 
Society,  7,  Adam  Street,  Strand,  Loudon,  W.C. 

Eev.  J.  Gififen,  D.D.,  American  U.  P.  Mission,  Cairo, 
Egypt. 

Eev.  W.  Goldsack,  Australian  Baptist  Mission, 
Pubua,  Bengal,  Xortli  ludia. 

Dr.  F.  G.  Harpur,  M.B.,  C.  M.  S.  (Xile  Itiueratiug), 
Cairo,  Egypt.  ^^' 

Dr.  L-a  Harris,  M.B.,  American  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions,  Tripoli,  Syria. 

Eev.  W.  Harvey,  D.D.,  American  U.  P.  Mission, 
Cairo,  Egypt. 

Eev.  G.  F.  Herrick,  D.D.,  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  Bible  House,  Constantinople. 

Miss  M.  Y.  Holliday,  American  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  Tabriz,  Persia. 

Eev.  Olaf  Hoyer,  Danish  Church  Mission  to  Ai-abia, 
Aden,  South  Ai'abia. 

Eev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  American  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Beirut,  Syria. 

Eev.  S.  ]M.  Jordan,  M.A.,  American  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Teheran,  Persia. 

IMi'S.  S.  M.  Jordan,  American  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  Teheran,  Persia. 

Miss  L.  Kitching,  Palestine  and  Lebanon  Nurses'  Mis- 
sion, Baakleen,  Lebanon,  Syria. 

Miss  H.  La  Grange,  American  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  Tripoli,  Syria. 

Eev.  E.  John  Larson,  Swedish  Mission  Society, 
Stockholm,  Sweden. 


List  of  Delegates  to  Cairo  Conference     15 

Dr.  Johannes  Lepsius,  Director  of  the  Deutsche  Orient 
Mission,  Berlin,  Gross-Lichterfelde,  Zehlendor- 
firsh,  16. 

J.  Gordon  Logan,  Esq.,  Egypt  General  Mission,  Bel- 

beis,  Egypt. 

Eev.  W.  E.  Lowther,  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission, 
Penang,  Straits  Settlements. 

Eev.  E.  Maclnnes,  C.M.S.,  Cairo,  Egypt. 

Eev.  Chauncey  Murch,  D.D.,  American  U.  P.  Mis- 
sion, Tanta,  Egypt. 

Eev.  E.  L.  Page,  Society  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist, 
Cowley  St.  John,  Oxford,  England. 

Eev.  Pieter  Jan  Pennings,  Presbyterian  Mission  of 
Holland,  Calioub,  Egypt. 

Eev.  W.  Eobertson,  M.A.,  Church  of  Scotland  Foreign 
Missions,  Cairo. 

A.  B.  Scott,  Esq.,  South  Morocco  Mission  of  TJ.  F. 
Church  of  Scotland. 

Miss  A.  de  Selincourt,  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mis- 
sion, Allahabad,  U.  P.  India. 

Prof.  A.  E.  Simpson,  U.  F.  Church  of  Scotland,  Ed- 
inburgh. 

Miss  M.  A.  Smith,  American  U.  P.  Mission,  Cairo, 
Egypt. 

Eev.  J.  S.  Stewart,  Eef.  Presb.  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, Latakia,  Syria. 

G.  Swann,  Esq.,  Egypt  General  Mission  Abbassiyeh, 
Cairo. 

Miss  A.  Y.  Thompson,  American  U.  P.  Mission, 
Cairo,  Egypt. 

Eev.  J.  S.  Timpany,  M.D.,  American  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Union,  Hassan  Eonda,  Deccan,  India. 

Eev.  D.  M.  Thornton,  C.M.S.,    Bait  Arabi    Pasha, 

Cairo,  Egypt. 
A.  T.  TJpson,  Esq.,  Nile  Mission  Press,  Cairo,  Egypt 


l6     List  of  Delegates  to  Cairo  Conference 

Eev.  J.  Van  Ess,  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  America, 
Busrah,  Persian  Gulf. 

Miss  A.  Van  Sommer,  Prayer  Union  for  Egypt,  Fair- 
haven,  Palais,  Ramleh,  Egypt. 

Rev.  F.  Von  Velsen,  Rhenish  Mission,  Unna,  Germany. 

Bishop  F.  W.  ^yarne,  D.D.,  Methodist  Episcopal  Mis- 
sion, Lucknow,  Korth  India. 

Rev.  A.  Watson,  D.D.,  American  TJ.  P.  Mission, 
Cairo,  Egypt, 

Rev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  D.D.,  C.M.S.,  Lahore,  North 
India. 

Rev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.D.,  American  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Ludhiaua,  Punjab, 
North  India. 

Eev.  S.  G.  Wilson,  D.D.,  American  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Tabriz,  Persia  (via 
Russia). 

Miss  R.  T.  Wilson,  American  U.  P.  Mission,  Gur- 
daspur,  Punjab,  India. 

Rev.  F.  Wiirz,  Evangelical  Missionary  Society,  Basel, 
Switzerland. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Young,  M.B.,  U.  F.  Church  of  Scotland 
Mission,  Sheikh  Othman,  Arabia. 

Rev.  S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.D.,  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in 
America,  Bahrein,  Arabia. 


The  Program 

Date.    Houes.        Subjects.  Speakers,  etc. 

Wedn.,  4 —  9-12 — Constitution  of  Conference, 
Election  of  Officers,  etc. 
Opening  Address—  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D. 
Quiet  Hour. 

(Statistical Surveys ") -r,       c,  ni-   r/  -rx  -r^ 

of  the  Mobam-     1 5^^'  ?«•  «'  ^.TT^""'  ^-  ^• 
medan  World.    jKev.  C.  R.  Watson. 

Quiet  Hour. 
"  5-7 — Islam  in  Africa: — 

Egypt  and  Eastern  t  -r,        i    -m-  ^         -.^  -rv 
Sudan.  \  ^e^-  A-  Watson,  D.  D. 

North  Africa.  Mr.  W.  Summers. 

West  Africa.  Dr.  W.  R.  Miller. 

Thnra.,  5—  9-12— Islam  in  the  Turkish 
Empire  : — 
Turkey.  Rev.  G.  F.  Herrick,  D.  D. 

Syria  &  Palestine.     Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy. 
,,  Arabia.  Rev.  J.  C.  Young,  M.  B. 

2-4 — Islam  in  India  — 

North.  Rev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.D. 

South.  Rev.  M.  G.  GoldsmiLh. 

New  Islam.  Rev.H.U.Weitbrecbt.D.D. 

'•  5-7— Islam  in— 

Persia.  Rev.W.St.  Clair  Tisdall,D.D. 

Malaysia.  |  g^^-  ^-  pinion. 

(.  Rev.  J.  Ver  Hoeven. 

China,  etc.  I  S"^"  JT*  ^o^,^''^- 

I  Rev.  Dyer  Ball. 

Friday,  6- 9-12 1  I^^*«™*^^^^^«;^^   f  Rev.W.St.Clair  Tisdall.D.D. 

Educated  Classes.  |  g^^'  ^\?- J-  Gairdner. 
I  Rev.  D.  M.  Thornton. 
2-4-Illiterate  Classes.  I  g*^-^.Goldsack 

(.  Rev.T.GrahameBaiIey,B.D. 
Enquirers,     Con-  ] 
verts,  Backsliders.  I  Rev.  J.  Van  Ess. 
Support  of  Perse-  f  Mr.  J.  Gordon  Logan, 
cuted  Converts.  J 


5-7— Medical  Missions,  j  S^-  f-  J- Harpnr, 
I  Dr.  Ira  Hams. 
~    "  ;M( 

len. 

17 


Work  among  Mos-  j  Miss  Holliday '( to  open  Dis- 
lem  Women.    /  cussion). 


i8  The  Program 

Date.    Houbs.        Subjects.  Spbakkbs,  etc. 

Satur  .   7—  9-12— Christian  Doctrine    Rev.  W.  Hooper,  D.  D. 

'  ^  j  Rev.  W.  Shedd. 

Controversy.  |  j^^^  q  p  Herrick,  D.  D. 

(Relation  between ~l 
Heathen.         J 

Conditions  for     ") 
Baptism  and      V  Rev.  H.  H.  Jeasnp,  D.  D. 
Confession        J 

.4  0.4/  Missionaries  and  |  j^^^   ^   Dickins. 

•*^   \       Helpers,  etc.      ) 

Preparation  of    "i  r^j^^  gishop  of  Lahore. 
Labourers.        J 

5-7 1  ^'''^  *?  ^2"^  *^^  I  Mr.  R.  E.  Speer. 
^'  \  Church  at  Home.  / 

TheStudentMove-  I  ^^^  g  i^_  Zweraer,  D.  D. 
ment  and  Islam.  ) 

Pbayee  and  Peaisb 


Appeal  From  the  Cairo  Conference 
to  the  Churches 

The  great  needs  of  more  than  two  hundred  million 
Mohammedans  and  the  present  problems  of  work 
among  them,  laid  upon  the  hearts  of  missionaries  in 
several  countries,  led  to  the  assembling  of  this  confer- 
ence of  delegates  from  missions  in  Moslem  lands,  which 
has  been  sitting  at  Cairo  from  the  4th  to  the  9th 
April,  1906. 

We  have  been  presented  with  a  series  of  compre- 
hensive reviews  of  the  whole  Mohammedan  world,  of 
its  ethnic,  social,  religious  and  intellectual  conditions, 
of  missionary  work  thus  far  accomplished,  and  of  the 
tasks  and  problems  still  presented  by  it  to  the  Chris- 
tian Church  ;  we  have  considered,  though  too  briefly, 
some  of  the  chief  methods  of  missionary  work  among 
Mohammedans  in  preaching,  literature,  medicine,  and 
upbuilding  of  converts. 

These  outstanding  facts  as  to  the  great  needs  of  the 
Mohammedan  world,  the  first  fruits  of  its  evangeliza- 
tion, and  the  openings  for  a  great  advance  in  bringing 
the  gospel  to  Moslems,  have  been  borne  in  upon  us  as 
a  strong  call  from  God  to  His  Church  in  the  present 
day.  Coming  from  many  Mohammedan  and  Christian 
lands,  and  dealing  with  varied  aspects  of  Islam,  we 
unitedly  and  urgently  call  upon  the  Christian  Church, 
as  represented  by  her  missionary  agencies,  for  a  fresh 
departure  in  the  energy  and  effectiveness  of  her  work 

19 


20       Appeal  From  the  Cairo  Conference 

among  Mohammedans.  We  ask  that  it  may  be 
strengthened  and  promoted,  (1)  by  setting  apart  more 
special  labourers  and  by  giving  them  a  specialized 
training  ;  (2)  by  organizing  more  efficiently  the  pro- 
duction and  distribution  of  literature  for  Mohammed- 
ans ;  (3)  by  systematic  common  arrangements  for  the 
fresh  occupation  of  important  centres,  and  the  more 
effective  working  of  those  already  occupied,  and  for 
forestalling  the  entrance  of  Islam  into  territories,  so 
far,  pagan.  With  this  view  we  draw  the  attention  of 
the  committees  and  boards  to  the  volume  under  pub- 
lication embodying  the  surveys  presented  to  the  con- 
ference and  we  suggest  that  action  on  this  basis  be 
considered  by  the  meetings  held  in  each  country  for 
interdenominational  missionary  action. 
God  wills  it. 
May  He  enable  us  to  do  His  will. 


Signed  by  the  Executive  Coinmittee : — 
John  Giffen,  D.D.  (U.  P.  of  K  A.) 
H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D  (Am.  Pres.) 
Milton  H.  Mahshall  (N.  Africa) 
Dr.  J.  S.  TiMPANY  (Am.  Baptist) 
Eev.  D.  M.  Thornton  M.  A.  (C.  M.  S.) 
Bishop  F.  W.  Waene  (M.  Episcopal,  U.S.A.) 
E.  M.  Where Y,  D.D.  (Am.  Pres.) 
H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  Ph.  D.,  D.D.  (C.  M.  S.) 
Eev.  F.  WuRZ  (Basel  Ev.  Mis.) 
S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.D.,  F.E.G.S.  (Arabian) 

Representing  29  Missionary  Societies. 


Appeal  From  the  Cairo  Conference       21 

Women's  Appeal  to  Women's  Boards  of  Missions 

We,  the  women  missionaries  assembled  at  tlie  Cairo 
Conference,  would  send  this  appeal  on  behalf  of  the 
women  of  Moslem  Lands  to  all  the  Women's  Mission- 
ary Boards  and  Committees  of  Great  Britain,  America, 
Canada,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Denmark, 
Norway,  Sweden,  Holland,  Australia,  and  New 
Zealand. 

While  we  have  heard  with  deep  thankfulness  of 
many  signs  of  God's  blessing  on  the  efforts  already  put 
forth,  yet,  we  have  been  appalled  at  the  reports  which 
have  been  sent  in  to  the  conference  from  all  parts  of 
the  Moslem  world,  showing  us  only  too  plainly  that, 
as  yet,  but  a  fringe  of  this  great  work  has  been 
touched. 

The  same  story  has  come  from  India,  Persia,  Ai-abia, 
Africa,  and  other  Mohammedan  lands,  making  evident 
that  the  condition  of  women  under  Islam  is  everywhere 
the  same — and  that  there  is  no  hope  of  effectually 
remedying  the  spiritual,  moral,  and  physical  ills 
which  they  suffer,  except  to  take  them  the  message  of 
the  Saviour,  and  that  there  is  no  chance  of  their  hear- 
ing, unless  we  give  ourselves  to  the  work.  JVo  one  else 
will  do  it.  This  lays  a  heavy  responsibility  on  all 
Christian  women. 

The  number  of  Moslem  women  is  so  vast — not  less 
than  one  hundred  million — that  any  adequate  effort  to 
meet  the  need  must  be  on  a  scale  far  wider  than  has 
ever  yet  been  attempted. 

We  do  not  suggest  new  organizations,  but  that  every 
Church  and  Board  of  Missions  at  present  working  in 


22       Appeal  From  the  Cairo  Conference 

Moslem  lands  should  take  up  their  own  women's 
branch  of  work  with  an  altogether  new  ideal  before 
them,  determining  to  reach  the  whole  world  of  Moslem 
women  in  this  generation.  Each  part  of  the  women's 
work  being  already  carried  on  needs  to  be  widely  ex- 
tended. Trained  and  consecrated  women  doctors; 
trained  and  consecrated  women  teachers ;  groups  of 
women  workers  in  the  villages  ;  an  army  of  those  with 
love  in  their  hearts  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  And, 
with  the  willingness  to  take  up  this  burden,  so  long 
neglected,  for  the  salvation  of  Mohammedan  women, 
even  though  it  may  prove  a  very  Cross  of  Calvary  to 
some  of  us,  we  shall  hear  our  Master's  voice  afresh 
with  ringing  words  of  encouragement: — '■^  Have  faith 
in  Gody — For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever 
shall  say  unto  this  mountain  "  Be  thou  removed,"  and 
"Be  thou  cast  into  the  sea,"  and  shall  not  doubt  in 
his  heart,  but  shall  believe  that  these  things  which  He 
saith  shall  come  to  pass,  he  shall  have  whatsoever  he 
saith. — "Nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you." 


RELATION  OF  MISSIONS  TO  MOSLEMS  AND 
MISSIONS  TO  PAGANS 

De.  Johannes  Lepsius 

Discussion  :  ^ 

Dr.  Zwemer  asked,  "Does  this  relation  apply  also 
to  work  amongst  Copts  and  Armenians,  etc.  ?" 

Dr.  Lepsius  said  yes. 

Dr.  Wherry  called  attention  to  a  book  by  Mr.  Foland 
entitled  Nazarenus  or  Jewish,  Gentile,  and  Mahometan 
Christianity  in  which  the  author  maintains  that  the 
errors  of  Islam  are  those  of  the  Judaizing  Christians 
who  persecuted  St.  Paul.  He  maintains  the  idea  that 
the  church  made  a  mistake  in  insisting  on  uniformity 
between  Jewish  and  Greek  Christians.  The  promises 
to  the  Jews  were  everlasting  and  hence  the  obligations 
were  alone  binding'  on  them.  The  Jewish  Christian 
Church  should  be  subject  to  the  requirements  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  but  in  no  case  should  the  Gentile.  There 
should  have  been  a  Jewish  form  of  Christianity  in  the 
world  now,  in  which  case,  probably  all  Jews  would  be 
Christians.  Islam  is  an  attempt  to  attain  that  posi- 
tion— hence  they  are  Gentile-Jews  or  a  Gentile-Judaiz- 
ing  sect. 

*  The  editors  of  this  section  of  the  papers  read  at  the  Cairo  Con- 
ference regret  the  failure  of  Dr.  Lepsius'  most  interesting  paper  to 
come  to  hand  in  time  for  publication.  Should  it  do  so  before  the 
completion  of  the  volume,  it  will  appear  as  the  Appendix.  An 
outline  of  the  discussion  -which  followed  the  paper  is  given  here. 

23 


24         Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

He  (Dr.  Wherry)  agreed  with  Dr.  Lepsius  that  there 
should  be  special  men  set  apart,  with  special  prepara- 
tion, to  enable  them  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  Mos- 
lems and  not  treat  them  like  the  heathen.  He  should 
like  to  see  this  paper  published  amongst  Christians. 

Dr.  Herrick  said  how  greatly  this  conference  profited 
by  the  presence  of  friends  from  Germany.  With  re- 
gard to  Dr.  Lepsius'  paper,  he  was  profoundly  im- 
pressed by  it,  and  wished  to  second  Dr.  Wherry's  de- 
sire that  it  should  be  given  to  the  Christian  world,  not 
by  the  conference,  but  under  Dr.  Lepsius'  own  name. 
He  did  not  mean  to  imply  that  he  would  endorse  every 
sentence,  but  several  important  objects  would  be  ac- 
complished, for  it  emphasizes  the  importance  of  special 
preparation  of  labourers,  and  makes  a  distinct,  clear 
and  correct  statement  showing  that  Moslems  are  not 
heathen. 

To  classify  them  as  a  Judeo-Christian  sect  has 
merits,  (1)  That  of  sui-prise.  (2)  Stimulating  thought. 
(3)  It  gives  a  grip  on  the  Moslem  himself  and  will  not 
offend  him. 

Dr.  Watson  said  that  in  confirmation  of  the  paper, 
one  of  their  Moslem  converts  who  is  now  giving 
lessons  in  the  theological  classes  has  recently  proved 
that  in  his  earliest  years  Mohammed  himself  was  a 
nominal  Christian. 

Mr.  Page  said  he  wished  to  call  attention  to  one  part 
of  the  paper  which  seemed  to  say  that  the  Moham- 
medan God  was  the  same  as  the  God  of  Israel.  Ought 
we  not  to  be  very  clear  in  our  own  minds,  for  there  is 
a  great  difference  if  not  antagonism  between  the  God  of 


Missions  to  Moslems  and  Pagans         25 

Mohammed  and  the  God  of  the  Christian.  We  wish 
to  concede  all  we  can,  and  to  do  nothing  to  irritate,  but 
we  must  be  very  clear  in  our  own  minds  as  to  the  dif- 
ferences (1)  in  the  being  of  God  which  is  Triune  ;  (2) 
in  the  character  of  God. 

Mohammed  was  really  an  idolater  because  his  con- 
ception of  God  was  really  a  caricature. 

Br.  Lejys'ms  in  reply  said  he  would  ask  Mr. 

the  convert  from  Islam,  whether  the  God  whom  he  now 
adores  is  the  same  or  another.  (He  says  "the same.") 
He  thought  the  answer  could  only  be  given  by  a  con- 
verted Moslem,  though  certainly  we  do  not  know  God 
truly  till  we  know  Christ.  Yet  we  may  truly  say  that 
the  God  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  God  of  the  Old, 
though  in  the  latter  He  was  not  yet  manifested  in  Christ. 

Another  point  he  wished  to  mention  was,  ' '  What 
may  have  been  the  reason  why  the  church  was  so  late 
in  taking  np  missions  to  Moslems."  The  answer  was 
in  his  paper.  We  have  a  double  movement  in  the 
history  of  the  church.  (1)  A  forward  movement  in 
missions  to  Pagans.  This  started  from  Jerusalem, 
and  extended  to  the  Eoman  Empire,  to  Europe,  and 
the  North  American  world.  (2)  Simultaneously  there 
was  a  retrograde  movement,  beginning  with  the  ref- 
ormation of  the  Eoman  Church — the  Stundist  move- 
ment— the  beginning  of  reformation  in  the  Greek 
Church.  The  reform  in  the  American  brethren,  the 
Church  of  England  and  the  next  station  in  the  back- 
ward road  is  the  reform  of  Islam.  It  is  by  no  means 
accidental  that  it  has  been  taken  up  by  those  who  have 
been  led  to  attempt  to  reform  the  Churches  of  the  East. 


26  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Following  this  will  come  the  last  step,  the  conversion 
of  Israel.  The  Lord  does  not  come  once  only  to  the 
nations.  With  Him  as  with  the  Good  Samaritan,  He 
will  repay  all  when  He  comes  again. 

In  this  alone  we  see  wherein  the  great  difference 
exists.  Missions  to  Moslems  are  for  the  reconversion 
of  those  who  have  lapsed ;  but  God  is  merciful  also  to 
the  backslider.  With  regard  to  Islam  we  must 
"  never  let  Him  go." 

Dr.  Eddy  said.  The  question  is  a  practical  one.  It 
is  a  point  of  contact  if  we  take  advantage  of  it  as  St. 
Paul  did  showing  that  ''the  unknown  God"  is  ours. 
It  would  only  irritate  the  Moslems  if  we  deny  that 
they  worship  the  one  true  God. 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  that  the  Moslems  lack  the  idea  of 
the  holiness  of  God.  He  agreed  with  Mr.  Page.  They 
agree  in  monotheism  but  the  essence  and  attributes  of 
their  God  are  different.  He  is  without  love  or  holi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Wilson  of  Persia,  asked  if  a  society  or  mission 
should  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  Moslem  work. 
Missions  in  Persia  began  in  that  way,  but  at  times  the 
difficulties  had  been  such  that  they  had  turned  their 
attention  to  the  Armenians  and  Jews. 

Some  places  can  only  be  occupied  if  ten  families  of 
nominal  Christians  or  Jews  live  there  and  work  is 
nominally  among  them.  A  society  with  this  intention 
has  opportunities  of  working  which  it  could  not  have 
if  directed  exclusively  to  Moslems, 

Dr.  Wurz  said,  In  certain  ways  and  places  the 
two    cannot  be  separated.     Many  people  are  on  the 


Missions  to  Moslems  and  Pagans         27 

verge  between  heathen  and  Moslems.  One  man  must 
work  amongst  both.  Half  the  work  amongst  Moslems 
in  the  world  is  being  done  by  those  who  are  also  mis- 
sionaries to  the  heathen.  His  society  is  constantly 
confronted  by  this  problem  in  West  Africa.  But  it  is 
a  time  of  specializing  and  we  shall  come  to  the  point 
when  there  must  be  the  special  man  for  the  special 
work  to  Moslems. 

Bishop  Warne  said  he  had  never  been  a  missionary 
distinctly  to  Moslems,  but  he  would  remind  us  how 
much  has  been  done  for  Moslems  by  missions  to  other 
people  in  the  country  wherever  it  may  be.  His  society 
had  never  specialized  in  missions  to  Moslems,  but  he 
found  there  were  fifty  ordained  natives  who  were  con- 
verts from  Islam  in  his  district.  One  Moslem  in  a 
good  position  has  gathered  round  him  5, 000  converts. 
Where  a  country  is  wholly  Moslem  a  specialty  must 
be  made.  Also  in  Java  where  the  people  have  re- 
cently been  converted  to  Islam  much  can  be  done. 

In  India  there  is  a  multitude  of  low  caste  people 
who  will  become  Moslems  or  Christians.  Ten  millions 
in  Bengal  have  become  Moslems.  Hence  we  should 
push  work  amongst  them  to  save  them.  Some  say 
that  they  will  afterwards  become  Moslems,  but  this  is  not 
our  experience.  He  mentioned  one  who  had  resigned 
120  rupees  a  month  to  take  ten  rupees  a  month  as  a 
preacher. 

Pastor  Wurz  said  the  general  tendency  of  our  con- 
ference is  that  missions  to  the  Mohammedans  should 
be  worked  separately  and  not  blended  with  other  mis- 
sions to  the  heathen  ;  I  fully  agree  with  this. 


28         Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

But  in  the  very  interest  of  this  conference,  and  to  pre- 
vent its  tendency  being  misunderstood  by  missionaries  to 
the  heathen,  we  ought  freely  to  acknowledge  that  in  cer- 
tain countries  and  at  certain  times  both  missions  can- 
not be  separated  but  must  be  worked  by  one  and  the 
same  man.  One  might  say  that  one-half  of  the  mission 
work  which  goes  on  among  Mohammedans  is  done  by 
missionaries  to  the  heathen.  This  is  quite  natural,  as, 
to  mention  but  one  reason,  millions  of  people  are  just 
on  the  verge  between  heathenism  and  Mohammedan- 
ism. On  the  other  hand,  missious  to  the  heathen  are 
indebted  to  the  Mohammedan  problem.  It  is  a  stim- 
ulus to  them.  First,  because  it  compels  them  to  haste. 
There  are  numbers  of  tribes  all  through  tropical 
Africa  and  elsewhere,  which  will  be  Mohammedans  if 
the  heathen  missionary  is  not  there  very  soon.  Second, 
because  it  compels  us  to  do  solid  work  ;  if  not,  we  may 
make  the  people  Christians  to  become  Mohammed- 
ans afterwards.  Third,  because  it  compels  us  to  take 
a  high  standard  for  the  preparation  of  young  mis- 
sionaries to  the  heathen,  including  a  good  acquaintance 
with  Islam.  But,  after  all,  it  is  but  natural  that  both 
missions  should  be  separated  in  due  time. 


n 

HOW  TO  REACH  AND  TEACH  ILLITERATE 
MOSLEMS 

Eev.  W.  Goldsack 

The  question,  "How  to  reach  and  teach  illiterate 
Moslems,"  is  not  an  easy  one,  and  can  scarcely  be  sat- 
isfactorily dealt  with  by  one  whose  experience  is  lim- 
ited to  the  semi-Hiuduized  masses  of  Bengal  Moham- 
medans. With  an  unchanging  Quran  as  its  principal 
guide  to  faith  and  practice,  it  might  have  been  ex- 
pected that  the  problems  connected  with  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  Moslem  world  would  be  much  the  same 
everywhere  ;  yet  it  does  not  require  any  very  wide  ac- 
quaintance with  the  literature  of  the  subject  to  show 
that  conditions  differ  very  widely  in  various  countries 
in  their  practical  outworking. 

We  have  been  asked  to  deal  briefly  with  our  sub- 
ject ;  and  shall  proceed  at  once  to  take  up  in  order  the 
important  questions,  how  to  reachy  and  how  to  teach 
unlettered  Moslems. 

I.  How  TO  Eeach  Illiterate  Moslems 
We  place  as  the  first  and  foremost  requisite  a  sympa- 
thetic attitude.  It  is  a  significant  admission  that  we,  as 
missionaries,  should  need  to  remind  ourselves  of  such 
an  elementary  truth.  Yet  is  it  not  a  fact  that,  too 
often  we  approach  ignorant  and  bigoted  Moslems  with 
feelings  of  contemptuous  pity,  which  increase  in  pro- 

29 


30  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

portion  to  the  density  of  our  hearers  ?  Yet  woe  to  the 
missionary  who  fails  to  overcome  such  feelings  ;  for 
these  sous  of  the  soil,  who  have  been  brought  uj)  in  the 
school  of  nature,  are  quick  to  read  the  thoughts  of  the 
heart,  but  slow  to  forget  a  fancied  insult.  Let  us  first 
assure  the  people  amongst  whom  we  work  that  we  love 
them,  and  we  shall  have  done  much  to  prepare  their 
hearts  to  receive  the  gospel  story.  There  is  a  lan- 
guage which  all  men  understand — the  language  of 
love — and  too  often  we  fail  to  reach  our  Mohammedan 
brethren  because  we  have  forgotten  this  truth.  I  say, 
forgotten,  because  the  young  missionary,  when  he  first 
lands  upon  the  scene  of  his  life's  work,  is  usually, 
brimming  over  with  love  for  the  people  and  enthusiasm 
for  his  work.  It  is  after  many  a  sad  disillusionment, 
the  non-realization  of  many  an  ideal,  the  shattering  of 
many  a  cherished  hope,  that  love  is  apt  to  grow  cold, 
and  enthusiasm  wane.  There  come  times  to  most  of 
us  when  loyalty  to  truth  and  conscience  demands  un- 
sparing condemnation  of  what  is  false  and  evil ;  but 
there  are  few  occasions,  indeed,  when  an  intense  sym- 
pathy and  love  for  the  people  will  not  enable  us  to  do 
so  without  estranging  the  people  themselves.  Espe- 
cially should  the  sympathetic  spirit  for  which  we 
plead  manifest  itself  in  controversy. 

It  is  a  commonly  accepted  dictum  that  work  amongst 
Moslems  is  impossible,  if  controversy  be  interdicted. 
But  there  is  controversy  and  controversy,  and  it  is 
here,  if  anywhere,  that  the  constraining  love  of  Christ 
should  make  it  possible  for  us  to  so  present  the  truth 
in  love  that  we  may  win  men  to  Christ.     Let  us  first 


How  to  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems  31 

convince  the  people  that  we  love  them,  and  we  shall 
have  learned  much  of  the  lesson  how  to  reach  them. 

One  of  the  most  effectual  ways  of  proving  that  we 
love  the  people  is  the  establishment  of  medical  missions 
in  their  midst.  As  this  subject  will  be  dealt  with  in  a 
later  paper,  we  content  ourselves  here  with  expressing 
the  conviction  that  there  is  no  more  potent  means  of 
breaking  down  prejudice  and  of  disarming  suspicion 
than  the  ministry  of  healing  ;  and  we  would  take  this 
opportunity  to  express  the  hope  that,  in  its  proper 
place,  a  resolution  will  be  passed  by  this  conference 
bringing  before  all  mission  boards  and  committees  the 
desirability  of  establishing  medical  missions  wherever 
mission  workers  are  located  among  Mohammedans. 
As  a  method  of  reaching  ignorant  and  bigoted  Mos- 
lems the  medical  mission  is  facile  priticeps. 

In  Bengal,  one  of  the  greatest  helps  to  the  evangelist 
in  reaching  illiterate  Moslems  is  the  so-called  ^^  magic 
lantern.^ ^  Whether  it  is  equally  useful  in  other  coun- 
tries, we  cannot  say.  By  the  aid  of  the  ''  lantern," 
we  have  frequently  preached  the  gospel  to  audiences  of 
200  and  300  people,  who  have  listened  with  sustained 
interest  and  delight  whilst  the  wonderful  life  and  min- 
istry of  our  Lord  have  been  portrayed,  and  His  teach- 
ings explained.  Every  successful  schoolmaster  knows 
the  value  of  teaching  through  the  eye  ;  the  Christian 
missionary  to  illiterate  Moslems  is  much  in  the  position 
of  the  schoolmaster,  and  his  audiences  are  children  in 
all  but  years.  To  fix  great  facts  in  the  memory,  to 
bring  vividly  before  the  hearer  the  person  of  the  Son 
of  Man  as  He  trod  "those  holy  fields,"  or  hung  **for 


32  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

our  advantage  on  the  bitter  cross,"  we  know  of  noth- 
ing which  will  help  the  preacher  more  than  the 
"magic  lantern." 

We  often  undervalue  the  power  of  song  as  a  means 
to  gain  the  ears  of  the  people.  Yet  au  audience  may 
be  often  gathered,  and  prejudice  and  suspicion  dis- 
armed by  the  attractive  power  of  song.  Let  us,  breth- 
ren, cultivate  this  gift  and  consecrate  it  to  the  Master's 
service  amongst  these  Eastern  peoples,  who  are,  as  a 
rule,  passionately  fond  of  music  in  any  form. 

It  may  sound  paradoxical  to  some  to  advocate  the 
establishment  of  primary  schools  as  a  means  of  reach- 
ing illiterate  Moslems  :  in  other  words,  to  tell  you  to 
reach  the  illiterate  by  first  making  them  literate  ;  yet 
we  are  persuaded  that  the  village  school  is  often 
greatly  used  of  God  in  giving  the  Christian  worker  an 
entrance  into  Moslem  homes.  No  mission  field,  I  be- 
lieve, is  more  indebted  to  the  school  for  help  in  break- 
ing down  prejudice  and  banishing  fear  than  that  of 
Egypt  itself;  whilst  in  the  Soudan  it  is  the  school 
alone  which,  hitherto,  has  given  the  missionary  a  right 
to  exist  at  all  as  such. 

"We  have  only  repeated  commonplaces ;  yet  they 
need  to  be  emphasized  again  ;  for  do  we  not  still  hear 
some  good  people  affirm  that  the  missionary's  business 
is  only  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  not  to  teach  the  three 
R's?  And  does  not  the  poor  unoffending  ''  lantern  " 
still  call  forth  an  occasional  indignant  protest  ?  Yet 
we  are  persuaded  that  these,  together  with  the  mission 
dispensary  and  a  truly  sympathetic  heart  of  love,  will 
prove  the  best  means  of  reaching  illiterate  Moslems. 


How  to  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems  33 

n.    How  TO  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems 

Most  of  us  find  that  it  is  one  thing  to  reach,  and 
another  thing  to  teach  unlettered  Mohammedans.  To 
many  of  us  the  second  is  infinitely  the  harder,  and, 
therefore,  more  important  as  a  subject  for  discussion 
at  this  conference.  Given  your  audience,  with,  let  us 
suppose,  prejudice  and  bigotry  disarmed  by  the  min- 
istry of  healing,  or  interested  for  the  time  being,  by 
the  novelty  of  the  "  magic  lantern,"  the  supreme  ques- 
tion arises,  how  to  buy  up  the  opportunity  so  that  our 
message  will  not  only  become  intelligible  to  our  hear- 
ers, but  will  command  their  assent,  and  lead  them  to 
acceptance  of  our  evangel.  Our  great  business  is  to 
win  men  to  Christ,  and  our  success  is  bound  to  depend 
largely  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  methods  we  employ, 
and  the  form  in  which  our  message  is  delivered. 

As  a  first  requisite  to  the  successful  teaching  of  illit- 
erate Moslems  we  unhesitatingly  place  in  the  very 
forefront  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  vernacular  of  the 
masses.  Some  may  not  agree  with  us  in  giving  a 
knowledge  of  the  language  such  a  prominent  place, 
but  we  are  persuaded  that  one  of  the  very  greatest  ob- 
stacles to  the  intelligent  presentation  of  the  gospel  is  a 
defective  knowledge  of  the  vernaculars.  An  educated 
listener  will  often  catch  the  drift  of  a  preacher's  ad- 
dress, even  if  that  address  be  punctuated  with  gram- 
matical errors  and  idiomatic  monstrosities,  but  for  the 
unlettered,  something  more  even  than  mere  grammat- 
ical precision  is  required  in  order  to  make  our  message 
intelligible  to  him.  That  something  can  only  be 
learned  in  close  personal  contact  with  the  people  them- 


34  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

selves.  The  young  missionary  usually  gains  his  first 
knowledge  of  the  language  in  which  he  is  to  work 
from  books — a  training  ill  suited,  in  itself,  to  fit  him 
for  addressing  illiterate  audiences.  The  language  of 
the  masses  can  only  be  gained  through  close  personal 
intercourse  with  the  masses  ;  and  as  well  address  an 
East  London  audience  in  the  language  of  Exeter  Hall, 
as  attempt  to  unfold  the  plan  of  redemption  to  unlet- 
tered Asiatics  through  the  medium  of  the  language 
learned  from  the  teacher  and  his  books.  We  have 
heard  of  a  missionary  who,  after  haranguing  a  crowd  of 
rustics  for  some  time,  was  politely  requested  by  one  of 
his  audience  to  speak  in  the  vernacular  as  they  did 
not  understand  English  !  We  cannot  vouch  for  the 
truth  of  this  story  ;  but  we  do  plead,  nevertheless,  for 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  vernacular  of  the  masses 
as  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  effective  teaching 
of  the  masses.  Too  often,  the  mission  boards  at  home 
are  to  blame,  and  the  young  missionary,  before  he  has 
been  six  months  in  his  new  sphere  of  work,  is  so  over- 
burdened with  responsibilities  as  various  as  they  are 
fatal  to  study,  that  a  thorough  mastery  of  the  language 
becomes  an  impossibility.  Yet  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  if  a  missionary  does  not  gain  a  grip  of  the  lan- 
guage in  his  first  year  or  two,  he  seldom  gains  it  at  all. 
It  is  generally  "picked  up,"  and,  as  a  result,  his 
audiences  ever  after  are  usually  "  muddled  up." 

Amongst  the  practical  results  of  this  conference  we 
should  like  to  see  a  strong  appeal  to  all  home  commit- 
tees to  study  the  best  interests  of  the  great  work 
which  we  all  have  so  much  at  heart,  by  allowing  their 


How  to  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems   35 

agents  ample  time  for  the  thorough  acquisition  of  the 
vernaculars,  in  which  they  are  to  work.  Such  a  policy 
will  amply  repay  itself  in  enhanced  usefulness  and 
more  effective  service. 

In  the  next  place,  let  us,  having  acquired  a  good 
working  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  masses, 
make  it  a  first  principle  in  our  address  to  illiterate 
Moslems  to  work  up  from  admitted  truths.  Too  often 
our  message  arouses  opposition  and  resentment  at  the 
very  outset,  because  we  begin  by  dilating  upon  the 
sonship  of  Christ,  or  the  reasonableness  of  the  Trinity. 
It  was  not  thus  that  the  early  apostles  sought  to  reach 
and  teach  monotheistic  Jews.  It  was,  "Jesus  of 
Nazareth  a  man  approved  of  God,"  ''His  Servant 
Jesus,"  or  the  "Prophet"  whom  the  Lord  would  raise 
up  amongst  them  of  whom  Peter  and  his  companions 
spoke,  and  whom  they  held  up  before  the  people. 
Much  bitter  resentment  is  fostered  and  needless  con- 
troversy aroused  by  using,  at  the  beginning  of  our 
teaching,  injudicious  language  regarding  the  person  of 
our  Lord.  The  way  not  to  secure  a  hearing  is  to  begin 
by  insisting  upon  the  divinity  of  Christ.  That  subject 
will  come  up  later — who  would  wish  to  avoid  it  ? — but 
to  begin  with  it  is  to  begin  at  the  wrong  end,  and  to 
effectually  bar  the  way  to  further  instruction. 

The  miraculous  birth,  the  prophethood  and  Messiah- 
ship  of  Jesus,  His  wonderful  miracles  and  not  less 
sublime  teachings  are  all  acknowledged  in  Islam,  and 
are  known,  more  or  less,  to  every  Moslem.  Let  us  be- 
gin with  these,  and  then,  slowly  and  almost  impercep- 
tibly, our  hearers  will  be  led  to  see,  as  did  the  centurion 


36  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  old,  that  truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God.  We  believe 
if  such  a  plan  were  more  generally  adopted,  much  of 
the  unprofitable  controversy  and  useless  wrangling, 
which  seem  so  inseparable  from  work  amongst  un- 
lettered Moslems,  would,  in  a  large  measure,  be 
avoided. 

In  this  connection  the  Quranic  titles  of  Christ,  es- 
pecially if  they  are  also  Scriptural,  may  often  furnish 
the  basis  of  Christian  teaching,  both  conciliatory  to  the 
hearer,  and  useful  to  the  missionary.  Most  Moslems 
assent  to  the  statement  that  Christ  is  the  "Word  of 
God"  ;  let  it  be  ours  to  show  what  is  the  content  of 
that  title.  An  interesting  point  arises  here  ;  and  we 
hope  the  discussion  which  follows  this  paper  will  not 
leave  untouched  the  question  as  to  how  far  the  mission- 
ary should  go  in  his  use  of  Quranic  terms  which  are 
not  strictly  Scriptural.  For  instance,  every  Christian 
worker  amongst  Moslems  knows  that  the  distinctive 
title  which  Islam  gives  to  our  Lord  is,  ''  Euh  Ullah  " 
— the  Spirit  of  God.  Even  these  terms,  however,  are 
not  Quranic.  How  far,  then,  are  we  justified  in  using 
this  "  Kalimah  "  of  Jesus  Christ  in  order  to  lead  on  our 
hearers  to  a  belief  in  His  divinity  1  The  Bible  speaks 
of  the  second  Adam  as  a  '^  Life-giving  Spirit"  ;  shall 
we  then  accept  the  Moslem  title,  and  use  it  in  argu- 
ment, or  must  we  brand  as  mistaken  the  ascription  of 
a  title  to  the  Son  of  Mary,  which  really  belongs  to  the 
third  person  of  the  blessed  Trinity  ? 

Yet  again,  in  this  same  connection,  should  we  or 
should  we  not  make  use  of  Moslem  terminology  with 
respect  to  the  person  of  our  Lord  ?    For  example,  are 


How  to  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems  37 

■vre  compromising  our  position  by  using  such  words  as 
Hazart  before  the  name  of  Jesus  1  There  is  no  ques- 
tioning the  fact  that  the  nearer  we  can  approach  the 
Mohammedan  style  of  address  in  our  preaching,  the 
more  likely  we  are  to  secure  and  hold  the  attention  of 
our  audiences ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  more  foreign  and  unfamiliar  our  mode  of 
speech,  the  less  likely  are  we  to  secure  a  sympathetic 
hearing  from  those  whom  we  seek  to  teach.  In  pre- 
cisely the  same  way  some  missionaries,  conforming  to 
Moslem  phraseology,  speak  of  the  Quran  sharif,  others 
feel  that  tlie  use  of  such  a  term  tacitly  carries  with 
it  an  acknowledgment  of  the  "content"  of  the  word 
as  understood  by  Moslems.  It  seems  to  us,  however, 
that  if  this  objection  be  valid,  then  every  quotation 
made  from  the  Quran  carries  with  it  precisely  the 
same  imputation  ;  indeed,  are  we  not  often  told  by  our 
Moslem  friends  that  we  ought  not  to  quote  in  argument 
from  a  Quran  in  which  we  do  not  believe  ?  Our  posi- 
tion, then,  is  this  :  if  the  missionary  be  free  to  quote 
from  the  Quran  without  thereby  necessarily  leading 
his  hearers  to  think  that  he  regards  it  as  authoritative, 
he  is  equally  at  liberty  when  speaking  of  the  Quran  to 
use  Moslem  terms  of  respect  which  will  prove  concilia- 
tory to  his  hearers.  In  like  manner,  we  personally 
feel  no  compunction,  in  our  addresses  to  Moslems,  in 
speaking  of  Sazrat  Isa.  The  Christian  attitude  with 
regard  to  the  person  and  position  of  Christ  is  too  well 
known  amongst  Moslems  for  much  fear  to  exist  that 
we  shall  be  misunderstood  ;  on  the  other  hand,  such  a 
policy  of  accommodation,  if  you  will,  often  goes  far  to 


38  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

secure  the  missionary  a  sympathetic  hearing.     To  n», 
at  least,  it  involves  no  sacrifice  of  principle. 

The  practice  of  basing  oui'  addresses  to  ]\Ioslems  upon 
admitted  truths  carries  with  it  many  advantages,  not 
the  least  of  which  is  the  respect  which  the  missionary's 
knowledge  of  Mohammedan  faith  and  practice  en- 
genders in  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  Mohammedans 
generally  believe  in  the  necessity  and  efficacy  of  in- 
tercession ;  the  tactful  missionary  will  lay  hold  of  this 
admission,  and  show  his  hearers  that  intercession  is 
needed  now.  In  our  own  experience  we  have  found 
few  truths  which  are  so  effective  in  addressing  Mos- 
lems as  the  blessed  fact  of  the  present  exaltation  and 
intercession  of  our  Lord.  We  have  here  two  great 
truths,  both  of  which  are  admitted  by  Moslems  ;  the 
need  of  an  intercessor,  and  the  fact  that  Christ  is  now 
alive.     Let  us  make  the  most  of  the  admission. 

In  order,  however,  to  make  use  of  admitted  princi- 
ples in  our  preaching,  it  is  first  of  all  necessary  that  we 
should  know  clearly  what  those  truths  are.  Thus  we 
urge  as  a  further  requisite  for  successful  dealing  with 
Moslems,  a  clear  and  adequate  knoicledge  of  their  religions 
beliefs.  We  are  sometimes  told  that  it  is  the  mission- 
ary's business  to  preach  Christ,  and  not  to  waste  his 
time  in  the  study  of  non-Christian  systems.  We  once 
had  a  letter  from  a  Delhi  missionary,  who,  in  auswcr 
to  a  question,  replied  with  considerable  bravado  that 
he  had  never  once  read  the  Quran  through  !  We  find 
it  difficult  to  find  language  in  which  to  speak  of  such 
an  admission.  We  regard  such  an  attitude  as  an  insult 
to  the  people  themselves,  and  a  source  of  untold  loss 


How  to  Reach  and  Teach  Illiterate  Moslems  39 

of  power  to  the  missionary  who  takes  it  up.  Every 
missionary  cannot  be  an  expert,  but  to  remain  igno- 
rant of  the  main  teachings  of  the  Quran  and  the  tradi- 
tions, and  to  be  insensible  to  the  main  facts  of  Moslem 
history  is  to  curtail  our  influence  with  and  largely 
nullify  our  attempts  to  teach  Moslems,  whether  liter- 
ate or  illiterate.  Upon  the  other  hand,  an  apt  quota- 
tion will  invariably  gain  for  the  preacher  the  respect 
and  attention  of  his  audience.  We  are  persuaded  that 
the  success  of  a  missionary  iu  his  attempts  to  teach 
illiterate  Moslems  will  largely  be  proportionate  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  thoughts,  beliefs  and  prejudices  of 
those  whom  he  addresses,  and  for  this  reason  we  plead 
for  a  careful  study  of  Islam  by  every  missionary  en- 
gaged in  work  amongst  Mohammedans. 

Again,  to  be  practical,  is  it  not  possible  for  this  con- 
ference to  make  earnest  representation  to  all  mission 
boards  and  committees,  pointing  out  the  wisdom  of  re- 
quiring all  missionary  recruits  to  make  some  study  of 
the  faiths  which  they  are  seeking  to  displace  ?  It  has 
been  our  misfortune  to  meet  with  missionaries  in 
India,  most  estimable  people  in  other  respects,  who 
had  the  most  vague  and  shadowy  ideas  of  the  main 
principles  held  and  taught  by  the  peoples  amongst 
whom  they  were  sent  to  labour.  Brethren,  these 
things  ought  not  so  to  be. 

In  the  next  place,  in  addressing  illiterate  Moslems, 
let  our  message  be  brought  down  to  the  level  of  the  capacity 
of  our  hearers.  This  remark  would  seem  superfluous, 
were  it  not  a  fact  that  too  often  addresses  may  be  heard 
dealing  in  philosophical  abstractions  and  hair-splitting 


40  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

disquisitions  on  the  rationale  of  the  atonement  and 
which  are  absolutely  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  addressed.  But  the  human 
heart  cries  out  for  reconciliation  with  God  ;  let  us  re- 
spond to  that  cry  by  speaking  of  a  present  and  per- 
sonal Saviour  from  sin,  together  with  the  glorious  cer- 
tainty of  assurance  of  forgiveness  here  and  now.  The 
human  heart  longs  for  personal  relationships  with  a 
personal  God  such  as  the  Moslem's  God  "  sterile  in  his 
inaccessible  height "  fails  to  give  ;  let  us  emphasize  the 
Fatherhood  of  God,  and  show  that  He  is  accessible  to 
real  and  personal  fellowship  through  Christ ;  that  from 
slaves  of  law  we  may  become  the  enfranchised  sons  of 
God,  rendering  the  works,  not  of  obedient  routine,  but 
of  filial  and  loving  gratitude.  The  Moslem  heart,  de- 
spite the  Quran,  feels  the  need  of  atonement  for  sin, 
and  the  blood  which  flows  at  the  Baqr  Id  furnishes  a 
text  to  point  to  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.  Above  all,  let  us  never  forget 
that  the  Moslem  is  ''a  believing  rather  than  a  re- 
ligious" person,  trusting  in  his  own  self- righteousness 
and  the  ceremonial  performance  of  his  allotted  works. 
The  greatest  hindrance  to  successful  evangelization  is 
the  Moslem's  lack  of  the  sense  of  sin.  Do  we  speak 
enough  of  the  holiness  of  God,  or  of  the  hideousness  of 
sin  f  Let  us  make  this  the  burden  of  all  our  prayers, 
and  the  dominant  note  in  all  our  preaching,  until  the 
Moslem's  heart,  thawed  in  the  presence  of  that  love 
which  passeth  knowledge,  turns  in  glad  and  willing 
surrender  to  Him  who  died  that  we  might  live. 


in 

WORK  AMONG  ILLITERATE  MOSLEMS 
Eev.  T.  Graham  Bailey,  B.D.,  M.  E.  A.  S. 

The  problems  which  come  up  for  discussion  under 
this  heading  must  vary  to  some  extent  with  the  pecul- 
iar conditions  of  the  countries  in  which  work  amongst 
Mohammedans  is  carried  on.  The  author  of  this 
paper  deems  it  advisable  to  confine  his  attention  to  the 
country  in  which  he  works — North  India  ;  for  though 
he  has  had  the  privilege  of  staying  for  five  weeks  in 
Egypt  and  nine  weeks  in  Palestine,  and  has  had,  dur- 
ing that  time,  especially  in  Palestine,  many  opportu- 
nities of  conversing  with  the  people,  his  knowledge  of 
the  peoples  and  of  their  difficulties  is  worth  nothing  in 
comparison  with  that  of  missionaries  present  in  this 
conference  who  have  made  those  countries  the  scene  of 
their  life  work.  In  many  respects  the  problems  will 
be  found  to  differ  very  slightly  or  not  at  all,  and  where 
they  do  differ,  the  differences  can  be  alluded  to  in  the 
discussion  which  will  follow  the  reading  of  the  papers. 

Work  amongst  illiterate  Moslems  divides  itself  into 
preaching  in  villages  or  towns,  medical  work,  work  in 
zenanas,  and  private  conversation  with  individuals  ; 
or  dividing  it  otherwise  we  may  say  that  the  work 
consists  of  giving  addresses  to  larger  or  smaller  audi- 
ences and  speaking  privately  to  one  or  more  indi- 
viduals.    For  convenience'  sake  we  will  consider  the 

41 


42  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

public  preaxihiug  to  Mohammedans  as  the  typical 
form  of  work  amongst  them.  When  we  have  consid- 
ered this  subject  it  will  be  possible  to  point  out  the 
modifications  which  may  be  necessary  for  other  forms 
of  work  and  to  lay  stress  on  any  special  elements 
which  are  found  in  different  branches  of  effort  among 
them. 
Let  us  take  up  first  the  preparation  for  the  address. 

I.    Preparation 

(1)  No  preparation  is  more  important  than  the 
spiritual  preparation  of  the  missionary's  own  soul.  We 
need  no  excuse  for  insisting  upon  this.  The  most 
brilliant  intellectual  gifts,  the  most  thorough  mastery 
of  the  details  of  Mohammedan  controversy,  and  the 
completest  knowledge  of  the  Quran  or  of  the  language 
in  which  it  is  written  will  avail  little  if  the  missionary 
has  not  got  the  wisdom  which  cometh  from  on  high, 
and  is  not  endued  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Some  who  would  feel  the  necessity  for  spiritual  gifts 
in  order  to  lead  the  devotions  of  Christians  do  not  so 
readily  recognize  the  same  necessity  in  preaching  to 
Moslems  and  are  tempted  to  go  forth  to  preach  without 
having  sought  power  through  prayer.  We  may  say 
then  that  in  order  to  work  among  Mohammedans  we 
ought  in  our  daily  lives  to  experience  the  joy  of  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  indwelling  of  Christ,  and  be 
equipped  with  the  fullness  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  also 
in  connection  with  every  special  effort  we  should  wait 
upon  God  for  power. 

(2)  We  need  the  preparation  of  thorough  acquaint- 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         43 

<mce  mth  the  Word  of  God  and  with  the  doctrines  of 
our  own  faith.  Important  as  it  is  to  know  thoroughly 
the  beliefs  of  those  among  whom  we  labour  and  the 
tenets  of  their  holy  books,  it  is  of  still  more  pressing 
importance  for  us  to  be  well  grounded  in  our  own  faith 
and  in  the  Word  of  God  which  is  able  to  make  us  wise 
unto  salvation. 

(3)  For  illiterate  Mohammedans  it  is  peculiarly 
necessary  that  we  should  have  an  intimate  colloquial 
knowledge  of  the  language  in  which  we  have  to  address 
them.  Whether  it  be  colloquial  Arabic  or  one  of  the 
other  multifarious  tongues  spoken  between  Turkey  and 
China  or  in  Northern  Africa,  it  should  be  the  mission- 
ary's aim  so  to  speak  the  language  of  the  people  that 
in  pronunciation  and  idiom  and  intonation  and  gesture 
he  may  be  like  one  of  themselves.  In  some  countries 
missionaries  pay  more  attention  to  this  than  in  others. 
Its  importance  is  very  great. 

(4)  The  preacher  should  have  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  Quran.  In  Mohammedan  controversy  more  than 
in  most  departments  of  knowledge  a  little  learning  is  a 
dangerous  thing.  The  whole  Quran  should  be  studied, 
the  connection  of  verse  with  verse  understood  and  the 
time,  place,  and  occasion  of  the  different  portions  ap- 
proximately ascertained.  In  the  case  of  important 
passages  the  opinions  of  acknowledged  Moslem  com- 
mentators should  be  specially  noted. 

Missionaries  who  live  in  Arabic  speaking  countries 
will  naturally  study  the  Quran  in  Arabic,  but  even 
those  whose  sphere  of  work  is  Turkey  or  Persia  or  In- 
dia or  West  Africa  ought  to  make  a  point  of  learning 


44  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Arabic,  for  they  will  find  a  knowledge  of  it  invaluable 
among  the  educated  and  uneducated  alike.  It  will  be 
found  peculiarly  useful  to  be  able  to  repeat  by  heart 
important  verses  in  the  Quran.  From  thirty  to  fifty 
verses  will  be  sufficient.  It  is  of  course  necessary  to 
have  the  words  absolutely  correct  with  the  right  vowel 
points.  Very  often  will  the  value  of  knowing  these 
verses  be  felt.  It  is  frequently  very  difficult  during  an 
address  to  turn  up  a  passage  even  in  a  familiar  copy  of 
the  Quran,  and  it  is  sometimes  well  nigh  impossible  in 
a  copy  which  is  supplied  by  one  of  the  audience. 

(5)  There  should  be  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
main  points  of  Mohammedan  controversy.  Intellectual 
difficulties  which  Moslems  have  in  accepting  Christi- 
anity, their  objections  to  accepting  Christianity  and 
the  best  methods  of  meeting  those  objections,  also  the 
elements  of  weakness  in  the  faith  of  Islam  and  the  best 
way  of  demonstrating  that  weakness  should  be  studied. 
Frequently  an  answer  which  to  a  Westerner  would  ap- 
pear to  dispose  completely  of  an  objection  will  have  no 
weight  with  an  Oriental,  or  an  answer  which  may  seem 
conclusive  to  a  Christian  may  have  no  effect  on  a  Mos- 
lem. Similarly  what  we  consider  the  weak  points  of 
Islam  may  be  tenets  to  which  a  Moslem  will  cling  most 
tenaciously.  It  is  all  important  that  we  should  know 
how  to  present  truth  and  error  to  those  with  whom  we 
have  to  deal  in  order  that  the  beauty  of  truth  and  the 
falsity  of  error  may  be  brought  home  to  them.  It  is  a 
much  more  urgent  matter  that  we  should  be  able  to 
answer  the  objections  of  Moslems  to  our  religion  than 
that  we  should  be  able  to  suggest  objections  to  theirs. 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         45 

Our  time  is  occupied  in  showing  the  beauty  and  the 
power  of  the  life  and  death  of  Christ  and  in  explaining 
the  facts  of  Christianity  rather  than  in  pointing  out 
objections  to  Islam,  while  experience  shows  that  Mo- 
hammedans enjoy  nothing  better  than  indicating  what 
they  believe  to  be  the  faults  of  the  Bible  and  of  our  re- 
ligion in  general. 

(6)  The  missionary  should  have  his  address  thor- 
oughly prepared,  so  well  prepared  that  after  any  inter- 
ruption, however  great,  he  can  at  once  resume  the 
thread  of  his  discourse  where  it  was  broken  off.  There 
is  a  strange  custom  far  from  uncommon  among  mis- 
sionaries, of  giving  extempore  addresses  to  non-Chris- 
tians. Men  who  will  carefully  study  out  an  address 
which  they  propose  to  give  to  a  handful  of  Christians, 
will  stand  up  before  a  Mohammedan  audience  and  de- 
liver a  discourse  of  which  only  the  subject  has  been 
decided  upon  beforehand.  This  is  not  a  practice 
which  should  be  followed.  The  speaker  should  before 
he  begins  to  speak  know  not  only  the  line  of  his  argu- 
ment but  every  illustration  which  he  may  use  and 
every  quotation  from  the  Quran  or  from  the  Bible 
which  he  may  introduce.  He  ought  also  to  think  out 
the  probable  objections  which  will  be  urged  to  his 
remarks. 

II.    The  Delivery 

When  a  sitting  attitude  is  possible  it  will  generally 
be  found  preferable  to  standing.  The  attitude  of  sit- 
ting is  characterized  by  a  calmness,  a  deliberation  and, 
among  Orientals,  a  dignity  which  are  absent  in  9tand- 


46  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

ing.  An  eastern  teacher  does  not  as  a  rule  stand  in 
addressing  his  pupils.  Apart  from  this  the  calmness 
and  deliberation  of  sitting  will  give  the  speaker  a 
power  which  will  be  unconsciously  felt  by  his  audience. 

Similarly  the  voice  should  be  quiet  and  impressive 
and  caiefully  modulated,  sometimes  perhaps  becoming 
impassioned  (but  not  loud)  as  the  speaker  presses  home 
some  vital  truth. 

For  preaching  in  India  it  is  well  to  have  the  Quran 
with  one  and  to  refer  to  it  during  one's  address.  It 
always  secm^es  greater  respect  for  one's  message. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  to  treat  the  Quran  with  the 
outward  respect  demanded  by  the  customs  of  the  peo- 
ple. One  should  not  place  it  on  the  ground  or  handle 
it  roughly  or  lay  it  upon  anything  regarded  as  un- 
clean. 

In  some  districts  (not  however  in  India)  the  very 
possession  of  a  Quran  by  Christians  may  be  considered 
offensive.  Missionaries  who  live  in  such  parts  will  be 
able  to  suggest  the  best  method  of  procedure.  Perfect 
courtesy  should  be  a  feature  of  all  the  speaker's  utter- 
ances. Every  rule  of  Oriental  politeness  should  be 
observed.  Outstanding  men  in  the  audience  should  be 
accorded  the  respect  due  to  their  position. 

Moreover  the  speaker  should  be  not  only  courteous 
but  friendly.  A  little  friendly  praise  accorded  to  a 
good  question  or  answer,  a  few  words  of  kindly 
pleasantly  when  suitable  occasion  offers  will  often  go 
far  towards  bringing  out  what  is  best  and  most  hopeful 
in  an  audience.  However  exasperating  individuals  in 
a  crowd  may  be,  it  is  a  mistake  to  get  angry.     Prob- 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         47 

ably  some  writers  on  Mohammedan  controversy  have 
exaggerated  the  evil  efifect  on  listeners  of  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  preacher,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  anger, 
apart  from  the  bad  influence  it  has  on  the  person  who 
gives  way  to  it,  destroys  the  friendliness  between  the 
speaker  and  his  audience  which  is  an  essential  element 
in  success.  It  is  well  that  the  speaker  should  complete 
his  address  before  replying  to  questions.  Frequently 
questions  will  be  asked  at  the  very  beginning  of  his 
remarks.  He  can  then  politely  request  his  interro- 
gator to  reserve  his  questions  for  a  few  minutes  and  as- 
sure him  that  he  will  answer  them  as  soon  as  he  has 
concluded. 

III.  The  Matter  of  the  Address 

The  address  will  naturally  be  given  up  to  subjects 
which  permit  of  the  presentation  of  some  aspect  of 
Christ's  work  for  man.  There  are  many  such  subjects 
— the  death  and  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ,  man's  need 
of  salvation,  Christ  the  only  Intercessor,  the  testimony 
of  Yahya  to  Christ,  sin  and  forgiveness,  salvation,  the 
Word  of  God,  and  many  others  are  very  suitable  for 
Moslem  audiences.  Generally  speaking  such  subjects 
should  be  chosen  as  can  be  illustrated  by  quotations 
both  from  the  Quran  and  from  the  Bible.  The  people 
are  always  pleased  to  hear  the  sonorous  sentences  of 
their  book  quoted  or  read.  Their  pleasure  is  not  di- 
minished by  their  inability  to  understand  what  is 
quoted.  Their  interest  in  the  subject  is  enhanced  by 
its  connection  with  the  Quran  and  their  attention  quick- 
ened.    Quotations  from  the  New  Testament  and  Penta- 


48  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

teuch  and  Psalms  serve  to  remind  them  that  these 
books  are  part  of  the  Word  of  God  as  admitted  by 
themselves.  I  do  not  however  mean  to  imply  that 
every  address  must  refer  to  the  Quran.  There  are 
many  circumstances,  some  alluded  to  below,  in  which 
addresses  may  contain  no  reference  whatever  to  special 
Moslem  toi^ics. 

If  a  missionary  has  occasion  to  address  the  same  au- 
dience frequently  he  will  need  a  much  greater  number 
of  prepared  addresses  than  one  who  has  a  constantly 
varying  audience.  The  latter  will  probably  find  that 
twelve  thoroughly  mastered  addresses  will  suffice  for 
all  his  needs ;  the  former  will  need  many  more,  but 
will  in  view  of  his  having  immeasurably  greater 
opportunities  for  teaching  his  hearers,  be  able  to 
go  through  a  more  or  less  systematic  course  of 
Biblical  exposition,  taking  in  addition  to  subjects 
specially  connected  with,  or  lending  themselves  to, 
illustration  from  the  Quran,  Biblical  narratives  or 
simple  statements  of  Christian  doctrine  found  in  the 
more  dogmatic  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  and  he 
will  be  able  to  adapt  all  these  subjects  to  the  special 
needs  of  his  audience. 

There  should  be  no  hesitation  about  admitting  the 
existence  of  many  noble  thoughts  and  wise  counsels  in 
the  Quran.  "We  are  not  likely  to  commend  ourselves 
to  Mohammedans  by  an  inability  to  recognize  or  un- 
willingness to  acknowledge  the  fact  that  there  are 
many  lofty  aspirations  and  inspiring  ideals  in  the 
Quran.  Similarly  one  should  show  that  one  appre- 
ciates what  is  good  in  Islam  as  practiced  by  its  earnest 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         49 

followers.  In  this  way  a  bond  of  sympathy  may  be 
created  which  will  not  be  broken  when  the  incomplete- 
ness and  erroneousness  of  much  Quranic  and  Moslem 
teaching  is  insisted  upon  as  it  occasionally  may  have 
to  be. 

'Not  only  may  one  admit  that  much  excellence  is 
found  in  the  Quran  but  one  may  even  point  out  that  in 
some  ways  the  Quran  is  better  than  its  followers  know, 
that  there  are  in  it  teachings  which  are  obscured  or  ig- 
nored in  practical  Mohammedan  exposition,  and  that 
in  many  respects  the  views  of  Mohammed  have  been 
misconceived  and  misapplied.  One  may  proceed  to 
show  that  many  of  the  statements  in  the  Quran,  if  car- 
ried to  their  logical  conclusion  go  to  show  the  truth  of 
Christianity  and  in  particular  lead  to  more  exalted 
views  of  the  person  and  work  of  our  blessed  Lord  than 
are  held  by  Moslems,  and  also  disprove  some  of  the 
tenets  most  firmly  believed  in  by  them.  It  is  well, 
however,  in  demonstrating  the  fact  that  the  teaching 
of  the  Quran  sometimes  leads  to  Christ  not  to  empha- 
size the  incorrectness  of  the  Mohammedan  interpreta- 
tion of  such  teaching.  To  do  so  only  engenders  sus- 
picion and  at  once  shows  the  hearer  that  the  mis- 
sionary is  putting  himself  into  a  position  of  antagonism 
to  the  great  Moslem  doctors. 

It  is  very  important  to  avoid  weak  arguments. 
Many  of  the  lines  of  argument  suggested  in  works  on 
Mohammedan  controversy  are  dangerous  and  uncon- 
vincing. Some  premisses  valid  in  themselves  are 
made  to  bear  deductions  which  cannot  fairly  be  de- 
duced from  them.     Some  arguments  lead  themselves 


50  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

to  a  damaging  tu  g^wo^we  rejoinder,  some  are  founded  on 
an  ignorance  of  the  real  teaching  of  the  Quran,  some 
involve  a  method  of  treating  the  Quranic  text  which 
we  should  be  the  first  to  repudiate  were  a  Moslem  to 
apply  it  to  the  Bible,  some  are  due  to  an  acceptance 
of  an  English  or  other  Christian  translation  as  correct 
without  an  examination  of  the  Arabic  original  to  see 
whether  it  necessarily  bears  the  meaning  assigned  to 
it.  Many  indeed  are  the  pitfalls  into  which  the  eager 
but  unwary  controversialist  may  fall.  Every  argu- 
ment should  be  thoroughly  tested  before  it  is  used  and 
it  should  be  remembered  that  a  bad  argument  is 
much  worse  than  none  at  all. 

A'  few  examples  of  arguments  that  should  be  avoided 
or  if  employed,  be  employed  with  the  utmost  caution, 
are  given.  Every  worker  among  Mohammedans  can 
add  to  their  number.  They  are  taken  at  random.  The 
argument  from  the  fatalism  of  the  Quran  may  lead  to 
the  quoting  of  apparently  fatalistic  verses  from  the 
Bible  of  which  it  is  generally  impossible  to  give  ex- 
planations which  will  satisfy  Moslems.  Similarly  it 
is  dangerous  to  lay  stress  on  the  inculcating  of  slaughter 
in  the  Quran  as  our  opponent  may  refer  to  the  Hexa- 
teuch.  A  comparison  of  Mohammed  with  Christ,  how- 
ever, is  valid.  Sometimes  too  much  stress  is  laid  on  a 
word.  Thus  the  argument  that  God  commanded  idol- 
atry in  ordering  the  angels  to  worship  Adam  is  hardly 
fair.  The  claim  that  the  Quran  shows  the  divinity  of 
our  Lord  in  attributing  to  Him  the  power  of  creation 
is  somewhat  vitiated  by  the  not  very  distant  words, 
"  with  His  permission." 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         51 

The  argument  from  the  triple  mention  of  the  death 
of  Christ  is  one  which  must  be  carefully  used,  as  the 
word  employed  for  "die"  or  "cause  to  die"  may 
have  other  meanings  ;  and  in  some  Mohammedan  trans- 
lations is  given  other  meanings.  One  who  uses  this 
argument  should  be  prepared  to  substantiate  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  translation. 

It  is  very  important  in  addressing  Mohammedans  to 
avoid  giving  offense.  They  are  naturally  fanatical, 
frequently  they  hold  their  faith  with  a  tenacity  which 
is  proportionate  to  their  ignorance  of  it.  They  have 
a  tendency  to  dislike  Christians.  Incorrect  statements 
of  our  beliefs  circulated  among  them  by  their  priests 
have  greatly  prejudiced  them  against  us.  They  look 
upon  us  as  incapable  of  appreciating  their  religion. 

For  every  reason  it  is  important  that  we  should  be 
as  considerate  as  possible  in  dealing  with  them.  "Who 
has  not  heard  of  workers  who  are  absolutely  careless 
of  the  danger  of  giving  offense,  who  even  deliberately 
say  things  which  will  rouse  the  animosity  of  their 
audience.  They  seem  to  think  that  they  have  not 
preached  faithfully  unless  they  have  made  an  onslaught 
on  some  article  of  the  Moslem  creed  or  quoted  texts 
from  the  Bible  which,  unexplained,  are  j)eculiarly  of- 
fensive to  Mohammedans. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  useful  to  remember  sev- 
eral points.  (1)  Firstly,  one  should  as  far  as  pos- 
sible avoid  saying  anything  against  Mohammed.  These 
and  other  rules  may  be  somewhat  relaxed  in  the  greater 
freedom  of  private  conversation,  but  generally  speak- 
ing one  has  lost  nearly  all  chance  of  favourably  im- 


52  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

pressing    a    Mohammedan    audience  when    one    has 
spoken  against  their  prophet. 

(2)  Similarly  one  should  not  decry  the  Quran  or  the 
great  Mohammedan  saints,  or  sneer  at  doctrines 
taught  by  the  doctors  of  Islam. 

There  may  be  circumstances  when  all  these  things 
may  have  to  be  done,  but  such  circumstances  must 
be  very  rare.  Personally  I  have  found  audiences 
very  much  impressed  by  an  effort  to  avoid  offense. 
For  example  when  in  a  meeting  I  have  been  asked 
point  blank  some  questions  about  Mohammed's  work 
or  character  to  which  from  a  Christian  standpoint  only 
one  answer  was  possible,  I  have  replied,  "  Why  do  you 
ask  me  to  say  what  can  only  grieve  you  I  You  must 
know  what  I  believe,"  and  repeatedly  I  have  noticed 
the  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  my  desire 
to  spare  their  feelings. 

(3)  Not  only  must  we  avoid  speaking  unnecessarily 
against  persons  and  doctrines  which  Moslems  hold 
dear,  but  we  must  be  careful  to  express  Christian 
truths  in  the  way  which  will  most  favourably  im- 
press the  mind  of  our  hearers.  Deep  spiritual  truths 
are  always  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  and  we  may 
by  careless  handling  of  such  truths  not  only  incense 
our  audience  against  us,  but  what  is  more  serious 
give  them  a  totally  erroneous  impression  of  Christian- 
ity and  Christian  teaching.  We  should  endeavour  to 
use  the  phrases  which  will  be  best  understood.  Per- 
haps no  phrase  gives  so  much  offense  as  the  words 
"  Son  of  God."  One  cannot  help  feeling  that  harm  is 
done  by  the  careless  introduction  of  these  words. 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         53 

We  may  be  talking  about  Christ's  intercession  or 
His  death  and  atonement.  It  may  be  that  the  audience 
is  listening — as  in  India  is  very  common — with  deep 
attention.  Suddenly  our  Lord  is  referred  to  as  the 
Son  of  God,  and  there  sweeps  across  the  minds  of 
those  assembled  a  picture  of  an  oriental  harem,  and  the 
blasphemous  conception  of  the  Almighty  as  having  a 
wife  and  children.  No  wonder  that  injury  is  done 
to  the  truth.  And  the  pity  of  it  all  is  that  the  partic- 
ular idea  of  the  Sonship  of  Christ  was  one  quite 
outside  the  subject  of  the  address.  One  may  even  go 
further  if  we  are  asked,  "Was  Christ  the  Son  of  God," 
the  natural  answer  is  "  In  the  sense  you  mean  He  was 
not";  or  this,  "  In  the  sense  in  which  you  and  I  are 
the  sons  of  our  fathers  He  was  not,"  and  then  one  may 
go  on  to  explain  what  we  mean  by  the  Sonship  of  our 
Lord. 

In  those  countries  in  which  it  is  not  possible  to 
preach  openly,  the  conversational  method  will  have 
to  be  employed.  The  difference  between  preaching  to 
Mohammedans  and  conversing  with  them  on  religious 
topics  is  not  very  great.  The  suggestions  made  in  the 
foregoing  pages  in  connection  with  preaching  apply 
very  largely,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  conversation.  Very 
specially  is  this  the  case  with  all  that  was  said  about 
preparation  for  the  work. 

In  conversation,  however,  one  can  have  consider- 
ably greater  freedom  of  speech  than  in  preaching. 
Particularly  one  may  give  utterance  to  unpleasant 
truths  about  Mohammed  and  his  religion  to  which  one 
could  not  allude  before  a  large  audience.     But  one 


j[4  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

should  be  careful  not  to  abuse  this  freedom.  The  ut- 
most kiudliuess  aud  courtesy  should  characterize  all 
that  oue  says,  aud  it  should  be  remembered  that  when 
a  man  is  auuoyed,  he  is,  if  not  always,  at  least  gener- 
ally less  likely  to  accept  the  truth. 

In  conclusion  reference  may  be  made  to  different 
forms  of  work  among  Moslems.  In  a  mission  hospital 
the  work  is  of  two  kinds.  The  out-patients  correspond 
somewhat  to  the  ever  changing  audiences  which  are 
obtained  in  villages  or  towns  ;  yet  the  fact  that  the 
hospital  is  a  Christian  institution  in  which  preaching 
is  expected  will  render  it  natural  to  speak  more  directly 
on  the  truths  of  the  gospel  with  less  allusion  to  Islam 
or  the  Quran  than  in  public  and  open-air  effort.  This 
will  be  still  more  the  case  with  the  in-patients  in  the 
wards.  The  in-patients  form  to  some  extent  a  regular 
audience  of  persons  to  whom  it  may  be  possible  to  give 
more  or  less  systematic  instruction. 

In  the  case  of  women,  whether  living  in  seclusion  or 
not,  less  learning  will  be  required  than  for  men,  but 
it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  an  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  all  matters  Mohammedan  is 
not  advisable.  Even  with  ignorant  women  the  more 
the  worker  knows  about  Mohammedanism  and  the 
Quran  and  Arabic  the  better. 

Special  effort  ought  to  be  made  to  reach  the  as- 
cetics and  faquirs  and  other  holy  men  of  Islam.  These 
men  are  accustomed  to  the  consideration  of  religious 
problems.  Many  of  them  are  more  open  minded  and 
therefore  accessible  than  the  rest  of  the  population.  I 
am  not  here  alluding  to  the  priests  attached  to  mosques 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         55 

called  in  North  India  Mullahs  or  Malevanas  or  Maula- 
wis,  men  who  are  perhaps  more  bigoted  and  less  ac- 
cessible than  others.  There  is  another  class  of  men, 
some  of  them  ascetics,  others,  men  noted  for  sanctity, 
some  itinerant  preachers  who  profess  to  look  deeper 
into  holy  things  than  their  fellows.  Such  men  are 
sometimes  willing  to  recognize  kinship  with  similar 
men  amongst  Christians  and  are  occasionally  ready — 
in  word  at  least — to  hail  a  sympathetic  missionary 
as  a  brother.  There  is  undoubtedly  among  them  a 
field  of  labour  worth  cultivating. 

Generally  speaking  it  is  well  to  aim  at  forming 
friendships  with  Mohammedans.  A  great  deal  might 
perhaps  be  done  if  missionaries  paid  visits  to  their 
houses  and  entered  into  social  relations  with  them 
with  a  view  to  Christian  conversation.  This  is  a  com- 
mon form  of  work  with  lady  missionaries  5  with  men 
it  is  very  rare. 

In  some  places  it  will  be  found  useful  to  open 
reading-rooms  with  really  experienced  workers  in  at- 
tendance every  night  to  converse  with  those  who 
come.  But  this  belongs  rather  to  the  domain  of  work 
among  educated  Mohammedans. 

Limitations  of  time  and  space  prevent  a  fuller  dis- 
cussion of  all  the  problems  involved.  I  am  very 
conscious  that  many  things  have  been  put  too  briefly 
to  convey  their  full  meaning  at  once.  Some  state- 
ments which  will  appear  open  to  criticism  would 
be  accepted  without  challenge  if  they  could  be  ex- 
pounded and  illustrated. 

For  all   Mohammedan    work  three  things  should 


56  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

above  all  be  remembered ;  first,  the  need  for  an 
adequate  intellectual  preparation ;  second,  the  need 
for  a  deep  personal  spiritual  life,  and  third,  the  need 
for  a  constant  endeavour  to  bring  our  hearers  to 
Christ. 

Remarks  on  Messrs.  Goldsaclc's  and  Bailey's  Papers  : 
Rev.  P.  Awetaranian :  I  wish  to  say  something 
about  methods  of  work  with  Mohammedans.  When  I 
went  into  Kashgar  I  was  told  that  I  could  not  work 
with  them  on  account  of  their  fanaticism.  I  would 
spend  time  in  the  bazaar  and  take  my  Bible  and  sit  in 
the  market.  The  people  had  never  seen  a  missionary, 
but  curiosity  brought  them  around  me  to  see  what  I 
was  doing.  The  Mullahs  came  to  ask  my  business  and 
the  reason  for  my  coming.  I  replied  that  they  were 
Mohammedans,  and  that  the  Koran  said  the  God  had 
sent  the  New  Testament,  and  that  I  had  come  to  read 
the  New  Testament  to  them  if  they  cared  to  listen. 
They  had  no  Bible,  but  I  carried  both  Turkish  and 
Arabic  Bibles  with  me.  When  they  heard  the  words 
of  Christ  they  said  they  were  good  words.  They  came 
around  me  with  hatred,  but  they  went  away  with 
friendship,  I  began  to  translate  the  Bible  into  the 
language  of  Kashgar.  When  I  had  finished  a  chapter 
I  would  take  it  to  their  houses  and  read  it  to  them  and 
ask  if  it  was  right  in  their  language.  But  instead  of 
paying  attention  to  the  language  they  wanted  to  know 
the  meaning  of  the  words,  and  thus  I  was  able  to  carry 
on  conversations  with  them  in  regard  to  the  truths  in 
the  Gospels.  I  remained  there  five  years  working  in 
this  way.     I  did  not  begin  to  preach  nor  gather  them 


Work  Among  Illiterate  Moslems         57 

into  a  congregation,  or  pray  among  them  until  they 
had  accepted  the  gospel  for  themselves. 

M7\  George  Swan  :  What  per  cent,  of  the  Moham- 
medan converts  are  from  the  illiterate  classes?  Is 
the  Bible  put  into  the  language  of  the  common 
people  ? 

Dr.  Weithrecht :  We  are  putting  the  Bible  into  the 
language  of  the  villagers  in  North  India.  The  same  is 
done  in  Bengal. 

Dr.  Zwemer :  We  have  not  had  the  New  Testament 
in  the  vernaculars  of  Arabia. 

Dr.  Jessup  :  The  Turks  would  not  allow  the  publi- 
cation of  books  in  the  vernaculars. 

Mr.  Jordan:  There  is  one  point  not  mentioned  in 
either  of  these  papers,  possibly  because  it  is  so  obvious 
to  us  who  have  been  in  the  work,  but  which  needs  to 
be  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  new  recruits  who  will 
read  the  reports  of  this  conference,  viz.,  that  the  mis- 
sionary should  seek  to  understand  the  psychology  of 
the  oriental  mind,  the  kind  of  arguments  that  appeal 
to  him.  The  laws  of  logic  do  not  obtain  in  the  Orient. 
Illustration  is  more  potent  than  argumentj  and  analogy 
far  more  convincing  than  proof. 

Dr.  Jessup:  A  proverb  often  settles  a  question. 
Many  a  time  a  man  will  give  up  a  task  because 
some  one  quotes  to  him  the  Arab  proverb,  that  he  can- 
not carry  two  watermelons  in  one  hand. 

Dr.  Weithrecht :  About  one  half  of  those  I  have 
baptized  are  from  the  illiterate  classes. 

Mr.  GoldsacJc :  The  majority  of  the  Mohammedan 
converts  are  from  the  illiterate  classes. 


58  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Br.  Zwemer:  Apparently  the  greatest  iugatheriug 
is  from  the  illiterate  classes. 

Mr.  Goldsack :  This  gives  us  reason  to  hope  for  a 
yet  greater  ingathering. 


TV 

WORK  AMONG  EDUCATED  MOSLEMS  IN  CAIRO 

(a)    The  Western  or  Government  School  Men 
Rev.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdnke,  B.  A. 

In  adopting  this  title  for  our  paper  (for  I  must  say 
at  the  outset  that  the  papers  of  Mr.  Thornton  and  my- 
self are  joint  productions),  we  wish  the  qualicative 
*'in  Cairo"  to  make  it  clear  that  being  unable  to 
write  a  fully  informed  paper  upon  work  among  edu- 
cated Moslems  in  other  fields  we  feel  bound  to  limit 
the  scope  of  our  remarks  to  the  only  centre  with  which 
we  are  intimately  acquainted,  the  city  of  Cairo. 

In  defense,  however,  of  the  committee  for  having 
given  this  subject  to  those  whose  experience  is  so  lim- 
ited, it  should  be  pointed  out  that  Cairo,  being  the 
meeting-place  of  the  East  and  West  both  geograph- 
ically and  morally,  and  being  also  a  great  historical 
centre  of  educated  Islam,  is  really  a  typical  city.  So 
that  our  short  experience,  even  though  admittedly 
particular,  may  possibly  prove  to  be  typical  also,  and 
therefore  useful  as  a  basis  for  general  discussion. 

We  have  in  Cairo,  two  types  of  Moslems  who  have 
been  ''educated"  in  very  different  schools;  first  («) 
the  Eastern  or  indigenous  type,  the  sheikhs  of  the  Azhar, 
consideration  of  which  type  will  be  treated  of  by  Mr. 
Thornton,  in  the  second  part  of  this  paper,     (b)  The 

59 


6o  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

other  type  is  the  Western,  or  government  school  type, 
corresponding  to  the  Babus  of  India,  On  the  secular 
side  the  education  of  these  young  men,  from  primary 
school  up  to  college,  runs  fairly  parallel  with  the  gen- 
eral secular  system  of  the  West.  The  Egyptian  gov- 
ernment, being  Moslem,  has  seen  fit  to  give  their  pub- 
lic schools  a  distinctly  Moslem  tone,  with  instruction 
in  the  Koran  and  traditions  for  the  smaller  boys,  and 
no  facilities  for  religious  instruction  of  any  sort  for 
Christian  pupils.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  the  said 
teaching  in  the  Koran  and  the  traditions,  is  felt  by 
all  religious  Moslems  to  be  quite  inadequate,  with  the 
result  that  the  typical  product  of  the  government 
schools  is  naturally  turned  out  ignorant,  compared 
with  his  turbaned  brother  of  El  Azhar,  in  the  Koran, 
Tafsir,  Hadith,  and  the  other  outworks  of  Islam. 

For  the  sake  of  completeness  we  should  add  that  a 
third  and  mixed  class  is  gradually  being  created,  ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  the  government  is  now  taking  from 
El  Azhar  sheikhs  for  Arabic  teaching  in  the  govern- 
ment schools,  giving  them  a  fairly  thorough  Western 
education  to  prepare  them  for  their  work. 

Effect  of  the  Educational  System 

Before  going  on  to  discuss  work  among  these  young 
Effendis,  we  should  ask  what  effect  their  education  is 
having  upon  them,  (a)  The  government  education  of 
course  turns  out  a  much  better  read,  more  intelligent 
and  gentlemanly  man.  But  theologically  it  does  not 
tend  to  differentiate  the  Effendi  very  much  from  the 
Sheikh.     His  wrong  ideas  about  God,  the  corruption 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  6l 

of  Scripture,  the  crucifixion  of  Judas  instead  of  Jesus, 
the  impeccability  of  the  prophet,  the  faultlessness  of 
the  Koran,  are  all  the  same.  His  historical  sense  has 
not  been  sufficiently  quickened  to  throw  doubt  on  these 
time-honoured  myths.  He  despises  the  sheikh  with 
full  certificates  on  the  secular  side  but  still  looks  to 
him  for  guidance  on  the  religious. 

(h)  On  the  other  hand  it  is  beyond  question  that  a 
large  number  of  young  men  of  this  type  are  becoming 
sceptical  and  naturalistic,  being  followers  of  Spencer 
rather  than  the  prophet  of  Arabia.  The  number  of 
these  is  however  probably  not  more  than  two  or  three 
thousand  of  all  nationalities,  though  not  small  is  the 
number  of  men  who  in  Cairo,  as  in  other  large  towns, 
are  so  worldly  or  so  carnal  that  their  irreligiousness 
should  not  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  sceptical. 

(c)  Liberalism  in  Islamic  belief  has  not  developed 
here  as  much  as  in  India.  Our  Moslems  are  still  a  good 
way  from  the  New  Islam  in  India,  but  nevertheless 
there  is  a  reform  party  of  growing  importance.  It  was 
headed  by  the  late  Grand  Mufti,  Mohammed  Abdu, 
whose  position  was  "Back  to  the  Koran"  together 
with  the  rejection  of  the  Hadith  as  binding  in  matters 
of  faith.  He  is  said  to  have  had  much  influence  among 
the  younger  sheikhs  and  effendis  but  was  intensely 
suspected  by  the  older.  He  himself  feared  that  his 
work  would  be  overturned  after  his  death,  and  as  far 
as  the  direction  of  the  Azhar  is  concerned,  that  belief 
has  been  fulfilled.  But  he  has  left  his  mark.  Many 
young  men  of  the  western  type  of  education  are  carry- 
ing on  and  developing  his  ideas.     Two  of  them  (one  a 


62  Mission  Work  Amoncr  Moslems 


& 


perverted  Christian  medical  student)  have  already  got 
out  a  book  of  first  principles.  It  must  not,  however, 
be  thought  that  this  liberalism  goes  very  far  in  the  way 
of  concessions  to  the  Christian  position,  or  even  of  bold 
paradoxical  interpretations  of  Islam  like  those  of  Ameer 
Ali.  It  is  really  more  puritan  than  liberal.  The  old 
time-honoured  Moslem  positions,  however  unhistorical 
or  absurd,  are  obstinately  retained.  But  the  ability 
and  intellectuality  of  such  men  make  one  realize  indeed 
the  need  of  thorough  and  special  training  coupled  with 
sustained  and  persistent  Christian  effort  to  meet  them. 
(d)  This  is  the  place  in  which  to  say  a  word  about 
the  effect  of  the  government  system  on  the  Co2)t,  for 
although  the  Copt  may  seem  to  be  somewhat  outside 
the  scope  of  this  paper  both  from  the  fact  of  his  being 
a  Christian  and  from  the  fact  that  he  is  a  strictly  local 
phenomenon,  yet  as  we  shall  see  he  cannot  be  wholly 
separated  from  an  account  of  work  among  Moslems, 
and  especially  educated  Moslems.  The  government 
system  is  telling  very  badly  indeed  upon  the  Copts. 
Sunday  is  a  day  of  full  work  morniug,  afternoon  and 
evening,  and  Christians  are  thus  absolutely  debarred 
from  attending  to  their  souls'  needs  on  their  Lord's 
day.  No  Bible  or  Christian  teaching  is  permitted 
throughout  the  schools,  but  on  the  contrary  Christian 
boys  are  often  compelled  to  sit  and  listen  to  the  Koran 
and  Din  (religious  teaching)  being  taught  to  their  Mos- 
lem comrades  when  there  is  no  room  where  they  can 
be  separated.  We  were  recently  calling  on  a  high 
English  official  and  we  took  the  opportunity  of  making 
strong  representations  to  him  about  the  evil  effects  of 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  63 

this  system.  We  showed  him  the  damaging  effect  it 
was  having  on  the  morale  of  the  Copt,  how  it  was  des- 
troying his  pride  in  his  own  past,  destroying  his  keen- 
ness about  his  faith,  or  even  destroying  that  faith  alto- 
gether. We  told  him  of  the  medical  student,  already 
alluded  to,  whose  real  religious  instruction,  having 
come  entirely  from  the  quarter  of  Islam,  had  com- 
pletely brought  him  over  to  the  Mohammedan  position 
so  that  he  was  now  a  convinced  and  militant  Moslem. 
But  after  time  for  reflection  and  consultation  with  his 
subordinates  we  were  met  by  a  simple  non-possumus. 
The  hardships,  unsatisfactoriness,  even  injustices  of  the 
system  were  admitted  ;  but  "  he  declined  to  cast  down 
the  apple  of  religious  discord  into  the  schools  and  turn 
them  into  a  sectarian  bear-garden."  But,  unless  Chris- 
tian public  opinion  in  Egypt  or  in  England  (or  both)  is 
really  aroused  with  a  view  to  this  question,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  any  improvement  in  the  present  dis- 
astrous state  of  aflairs  can  be  brought  about.  It  seems 
to  us  vital  to  the  best  interests  of  the  nation  that  all 
Christian  bodies  in  Egypt  should  join  hands  and  co- 
operate in  some  matured  and  sustained  effort  to  stem 
and  turn  the  tide  that  is  ebbing  so  strongly  away  from 
Christ  in  this  land.  There  are  several  elements  of 
hope.  The  possibility  has  been  admitted  of  a  grant- 
in-aid  system  being  introduced  in  the  case  of  all  schools 
submitting  to  government  inspection.  The  leading 
Coptic  laity  have  taken  alarm  and  have  banded  them- 
selves together  to  try  to  set  their  own  house  in  order. 
A  counter  policy  to  the  government  system,  with  com- 
pulsory religious  education  and  Christian  teaching  in 


64  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

all  their  primary  scliools,  is  to  be  pressed  forward  at 
once.  And  when  we  remember  that  the  number  of 
Protestant  and  Catholic  Christian  schools  in  the  country 
can  now  be  numbered  by  the  hundreds,  and  in  nearly 
all  of  these  some  Moslem  pupils  are  being  taught  about 
Christ ;  and  when  we  see  that  many  Egyptian  Moslem 
gentry  and  nobility  are  preferring  to  send  their  sons  to 
the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut,  rather  than 
have  them  instructed  in  government  higher  schools  in 
Egypt  or  in  the  secular  universities  of  Europe,  we 
thank  God  and  take  courage.  We  have,  moreover, 
reason  for  believing  that  the  Christian  Church  has  only 
to  provide  higher  education  in  Egypt  as  good  as  that 
afforded  by  the  government,  in  order  to  draw  many  a 
Copt  and  Moslem  away  from  a  system  which  they  dis- 
like, and  give  them  an  all-around  Christian  education 
instead. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  we  cannot  yet  look  much 
to  Coptic  students  in  government  schools, — even 
though  they  are  more  than  one-third  in  number  in  the 
higher  schools,  and  even  outnumber  the  Moslem 
students  when  the  whole  number  of  primary, 
secondary,  and  higher  schools  are  taken  together — we 
cannot,  we  say,  expect  them  at  present  to  win  their 
fellow  students  to  Christ.  We  are  sad  to  have  to  con- 
fess that  the  tendency,  as  we  have  showed,  is  the  other 
way.  Until,  in  fact,  a  spiritual  awakening  begins 
among  these  students,  and  they  show  signs  of  real 
Christian  life,  it  would  seem  impossible  to  expect  them 
to  care  for  the  souls  of  their  Moslem  fellow  students. 
They  have  a  Coptic  society  called  "  The  Faith  Asso- 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  65 

ciation"  in  Cairo  with  several  branches  elsewhere, 
which  holds  weekly  meetings  attended  by  a  few 
students,  at  which  really  evangelical  addresses  are 
sometimes  given.  And  a  successful  branch  of  the 
Christian  Endeavour  Society  has  for  some  years  held 
meetings  in  connection  with  the  American  Mission. 
Our  American  brethren  will  be  able  to  tell  us  how  far 
their  Christian  Endeavour  branch  reaches  the  class  of 
students  to  whom  we  have  alluded. 

WoEK  Among  Educated  Moslems  of  This  Class 

(a)  Methods. — When,  three  years  ago,  we  set  our- 
selves to  consider  how  to  reach  these  young  Moslems, 
thus  educated,  we  found  that  they  were  not  easy  of 
approach.  They  were  reserved,  shy,  suspicious  ;  they 
had  a  pronounced  distaste  for  missionaries  and  their 
works,  and  a  special  dislike  to  coming  to  the  ordinary 
meetings  frequented  by  sheikhs  and  others  of  a  lower 
social  status  than  themselves.  One  advantage,  how- 
ever, we  had  in  our  nationality  :  for  they,  being  ac- 
customed to  Englishmen  throughout  their  school  days, 
felt  a  curiosity  as  to  what  English  clergymen  were  like 
and  what  they  had  to  say.  Consequently  when  we 
advertised  a  series  of  adabee,  i.  e.,  moral  or  non-relig- 
ious addresses,  we  found  they  came  at  once,  and  con- 
tact was  established.  This  therefore  has  been  our 
main  method, — a  weekly  address  on  some  moral  or 
social  or  historical  or  general  subject,  followed  by  dis- 
cussion. The  first  year  we  touched  mainly  on  subjects 
connected  with  personal  character  ;  the  second  on  sub- 
jects connected  with  purity  in  the  individual,  family. 


66  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

and  social  life  ;  the  third,  with  historical  subjects  illus- 
trating the  conditions  and  causes  of  national  greatness. 
The  addresses  have  been  in  English  and  Arabic  and 
the  discussions  in  Arabic.  It  has  been  wonderful  how 
freely  the  young  men  have  spoken  before  us.  It  has 
been  an  unrivalled  opportunity  for  seeing  into  their 
minds  and  seeing  the  native  standpoint  on  many  great 
questions. 

After  the  first  year  of  these  meetings,  we  debated 
how  we  could  reach  a  wider  audience  than  cared  to 
come  out  to  a  weekly  evening  meeting,  and  how  we 
could  at  the  same  time  strengthen  the  effect  of  the  ad- 
dresses in  those  who  heard  them.  And  thus  we  were 
led  to  start  a  weekly  Anglo- Arabic  magazine  which 
we  called  by  the  somewhat  inclusive  title  Orient  and 
Occident.  This  magazine  has  a  religious  and  a  general 
section.  The  former  includes  hymns,  religious  poems, 
series  of  illustrated  Bible  articles  from  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  and  dialogues  about  religious,  doc- 
trinal and  controversial  topics,  treated  in  a  more  rea- 
sonable, friendly,  and  constructive  style  than  usually 
prevails.  The  general  section  contains  biographical 
sketches ;  ethical  and  social  articles ;  and  articles  on 
missionary  history  and  the  triumphs  of  the  Cross  past 
and  present.  The  reception  given  this  magazine  has 
been  encouraging.  It  finds  its  way  to  many  homes 
representing  very  different  social  strata.  In  particular 
it  is  seen  and  read  by  many  of  the  class  to  which  we 
are  referring  in  this  paper.  And,  as  it  penetrates  into 
their  homes,  it  is  often  read  there  by  the  fathers  and 
the  families  of  these  young  men. 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  67 

We  also  have  a  depot,  where  English  books  are  sold 
at  reasonable  profits,  and  this  attracts  these  men  and 
gives  opportunities  for  intercourse. 

(b)  Some  results. — This  leads  us  to  note  some  of  the 
results  of  the  three  years'  experiments.  (1)  We  have 
already  alluded  to  our  own  personal  gain,  in  the  in- 
creased, almost  unique,  opportunities  we  have  had  for 
knowing  these  men,  hearing  them  state  their  point  of 
view,  seeing  into  their  hearts  and  aspirations,  and 
often  seeing  them  show  their  hands  in  an  amusing  way. 
We  have  also  seen  ourselves  as  they  see  us — which  is 
always  valuable. 

(2)  We  have  been  enabled,  moreover,  in  some  de- 
gree to  win  the  confidence  of  some  of  them.  We  know 
well  that  the  bulk  of  them  still  suspect  us  and  will 
not  come  near  us.  But  how  do  we  know  it  ?  From 
the  lips  of  those  who  do  not  suspect  us,  and  do  come 
to  us,  knowing  perfectly  well  what  we  are.  These  in- 
clude both  Moslems  and  Copts.  Both  have  come  to 
us,  whether  as  individuals  or  in  groups,  for  advice  on 
all  sorts  of  questions  and  sometimes  the  talk  has  led  to 
the  deepest  and  most  serious  subjects. 

(3)  We  have  found  that  by  showing  sympathy  with 
their  aspirations,  their  desires  for  independence  in  the 
best  sense,  for  self-reform,  for  social  reform,  and  for 
the  regeneration  of  their  nation,  we  have  a  way  to  their 
hearts.  For  there  is  a  new  spirit  abroad,  which  is 
worth  watching  and  influencing  and  using.  We  see  it 
in  various  ways,  in  moments  like  the  recent  strike  of 
the  law-school  students ;  in  their  recent  formation  of  a 
social  club,  and  in  the  desire  to  form  discussion  socie- 


68  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

ties.  Of  these  latter,  one  was  formed  independently 
of  us  last  year.  It  failed.  This  year  some  of  them 
definitely  rallied  round  us,  and  in  spite  of  the  severest 
criticism  from  suspicious  Moslems,  insisted  in  forming 
a  society  in  conjunction  with  ourselves,  the  energizing 
idea  of  which  should  be  the  drawing  together  of  the 
educated  classes  of  the  different  elements  of  the  nation, 
and  creating  increased  mutual  understanding  and 
respect. 

(4)  We  have  found  them  ready  to  some  extent  to 
come  to  hear  religious  addresses.  But  most  of  them 
— and  all  the  best  of  them — have  little  taste  for  public 
discussion  or  disputation.  But  we  have  had  the  joy 
of  preaching  to  at  least  some  of  them,  of  having  per- 
sonal talks  with  several  individuals  among  them,  and 
of  reaching  some  others  by  means  of  our  magazine. 
We  have  proved,  moreover,  that  no  paid  native  agents, 
of  a  kind  that  missionary  societies  can  afford,  are  iu 
the  least  able  to  reach  these  men.  Only  warm-hearted 
Christians  of  their  own  class  seem  able  to  appeal  to 
them.  Clearly  therefore  missionary  workers  who  can 
at  least  get  into  touch  with  them  should  not  relax  but 
increase  and  develop  their  exertions  to  reach  this  class 
of  Moslems. 

(5)  But  even  if  the  directly  religious  application  of 
all  this  work  is  slow  iu  coming,  how  great  has  been 
the  chauce  of  soaking  Christian  ideals  into  their  moral, 
social  and  national  aspirations.  How  often,  when  the 
subject  was  marriage  and  poly  gam  j'^,  the  treatment  of 
the  education  of  women,  religious  toleration  and  free- 
dom, national  unity  and  mutual  respect,  happiness 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  6g 

and  unselfishness,  have  we  heard  Christian  ideas  pro- 
ceeding from  Moslem  lips  and  had  the  opportunity  of 
pressing  home  the  results  of  the  teachings  of  Christ 
even  when  we  did  not  mention  His  sacred  name.  This 
is  surely  a  great  gain  ;  it  is  breaking  up  the  hard 
ground  ;  it  is  producing  an  atmosphere  of  greater 
reasonableness  ;  it  is  dealing  subtle  blows  at  bigotry 
and  fanaticism  ;  it  is  gaining  respect  for  Christians  and 
their  message  in  a  country  where  both  have  been  for 
centuries  the  objects  of  unmitigated  contempt ;  it  is 
putting  the  Moslem  on  the  defensive  where  he  before 
thought  defense  was  unnecessary  and  even  attack 
hardly  worth  the  trouble. 

Oui'  brethren  from  India  will  probably  be  saying, 
' '  All  this  sounds  very  much  like  embryonic  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work.  Why  not  go  in  for  a  regular  Y.  M.  C.  A.  ?  " 
We  admit  fully  that  in  many  ways  laymen  would  have 
a  better  chance  than  we  have. 

We  made  careful  and  cautious  enquiries,  for  we 
were  perfectly  ready  to  hand  over  this  sort  of  work  to 
that  organization.  But  we  are  free  to  confess  that  we 
believe  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  would  have  a  much  more 
ticklish  piece  of  work  in  Cairo  than  it  has  in  any 
Indian  university  town  :  first,  because  of  the  intense 
suspicion  and  independence  of  the  Moslem  youth  ; 
second,  because  the  great  majority  of  Christians  that 
have  come  to  our  gatherings  are,  in  many  respects  (as 
we  have  explained),  inferior  to  the  Moslems ;  a  very 
different  situation  from  that  in  India  where  the  Chris- 
tians are  at  least  the  equals,  if  not  the  superiors,  of 
the  Moslems,  not  only  in  numbers  but  also  in  unity, 


yo  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

in  esprit-de-corps,  and  in  morale ;  and  therefore  it 
would  be  impossible  to  make  them  the  nucleus,  the 
committee  of  a  native  Y.  M.  C.  A.  It  is  almost 
certain  that  the  Moslems  would  not  consort  with 
them,  especially  if  Christian  young  men  held  any 
privileged  posts  as  distinct  from  them,  and  when  in 
addition,  they  (the  Moslems)  were  conscious  of  Chris- 
tian religious  influences  at  work  around  them.  It 
would  seem  to  follow  that  some  other  method  of  work 
must  precede  the  forming  of  a  student  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in 
Cairo. 

AVe  are  now  looking  to  God  for  guidance  as  to  what 
these  methods  should  be  and  how  best  we  may  follow 
up  what  has  been  begun.  It  seems  to  us  that  some  ex- 
tension and  development  of  these  lectures  on  moral, 
historical,  scientific  and  social  subjects  would  be  pos- 
sible. They  might,  if  we  were  reinforced,  be  made 
more  consecutive  and  more  regular  and  more  fre- 
quent— becoming  something  in  the  way  of  extra-mural 
classes,  which,  being  absolutely  Christian  in  tone  and 
being  followed  up  by  classes  for  the  study  of  the  Bible, 
etc. ,  might  with  the  blessing  of  God  go  some  way,  at 
once,  to  counteract  the  Islamizing  educational  policy 
of  the  government  and  to  bring  these  young  Moslems — 
"  the  princes  of  the  provinces  " — to  a  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  and  of  Jesus  Christ. 

(b)    The  Eastern  or  Azhar  University  Men 

Rev.  D.  M.  Thornton,  M.  A. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  preceding  paper  has  dealt 
with  some  of  the  national  problems  that  face  a  mission- 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  71 

ary  iu  Cairo,  who  works  amoug  educated  Moslems. 
This  paper  will  be  coufiued  to  the  consideration  of  the 
international  problem  and  opportunity  here  presented  to 
the  Church  of  Christ  by  the  phenomenon  of  Al  Azhar 
University,  the  largest  and  most  international  school 
of  Moslem  theology  in  the  world.  And  perhaps  I  may 
be  pardoned  for  so  doing,  as  it  was  the  call  that  came 
to  me  from  the  ten  thousand  students  of  this  strange 
institution,  after  studying  many  books  on  Islam  in  the 
British  Museum  which  led  me  to  mission  work  in  this 
city. 

The  Azhar  University  was  founded  the  same  year  as 
the  city  of  el  Kahira  in  969  a.  d.  by  the  Fatimite 
Jowhar,  the  vizier  of  the  Sultan  Mu'izz.  It  was  con- 
verted into  a  university  about  twenty  years  later,  aud^ 
has  therefore  lasted  for  over  900  years,  being  embel- 
lished and  endowed  by  succeeding  Caliphs,  Sultans 
and  Khedives,  until  it  now  contains  over  10,000  stu- 
dents, with  250  professors  on  its  staff.  During  the 
first  five  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  it  never  at- 
tracted more  than  1,000  students  within  its  walls,  but 
in  1879  A.  D.,  that  is,  three  years  before  the  British 
occupation,  it  reached  its  maximum  number  of  pupils 
(11,095)  and  professors  (325).  Then  there  was  a  period 
of  decline  to  8,259  students  in  1897,  but  since  then  the 
numbers  have  again  increased,  in  spite  of  the  large 
number  of  other  schools  which  have  recently  been 
started  iu  Egypt.  The  class  of  Egyptian  student 
which  now  goes  to  Al  Azhar  is  yearly  becoming  of  a 
lower  order,  and  as  a  similar  institution  is  soon  to  be 
started  we  hear  in  Alexandria,  it  is  not  so  much  from 


«/ 


72  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

the  Egyptian  poiut  of  vie^v  that  we  wish  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  university's  importance.  But  it  is  its 
prestige  as  an  international  school  of  theology,  which 
is  still  fully  maintained,  and  therefore  makes  Cairo  so 
much  more  a  centre  in  which  educated  Moslems  of  one 
nation  can  be  reached. 

In  the  first  place  the  foreign  students  that  come  to 
the  Azhar  are  generally  older  than  their  Egyptian  com- 
peers, so  that  when  they  return  to  their  countries  they 
are  ready  at  once  to  take  up  positions  of  influence. 
Some  of  them  are  mature  men,  and  most  of  them  rep- 
resent a  high  level  of  intelligence.  During  the  recent 
Eusso-Japanese  war,  quite  a  number  of  elderly  men 
came  from  a  Moslem  colony  in  Kazan  near  Moscow, 
and  have  been  studying  in  Cairo.  Several  of  them 
have  come  to  our  meetings,  and  some  have  taken  part 
in  the  debates,  while  a  few  have  taken  a  course  of  regu- 
lar Christian  instruction.  It  will  give  you  some  idea 
of  the  extraordinary  area  from  which  these  students  are 
drawn  when  we  tell  you  that  we  have  held  couversa- 
tious  in  the  Azhar  during  the  past  year  with  students 
from  as  far  north  as  Omsk  in  Siberia,  and  as  far  south 
as  Zanzibar  ;  as  far  east  as  Calcutta,  and  as  far  west  as 
Fulah  Town  in  Sierra  Leone  and  the  oasis  of  Tuat. 
Again  the  fact  that  the  students  of  Morocco  strongly 
objected  not  long  ago  to  being  placed  in  the  same  porch 
as  those  from  Java  and  Sumatra,  will  show  as  well  as 
anything  the  great  prestige  and  influence  from  East  to 
West  that  the  Azhar  still  possesses. 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  73 

The  Secret  of  the  Azhar  University's 
Influence 

Wliat  can  be  the  secret  of  the  attractive  power  that 
this  University  has  exerted  with  growing  influence  for 
nearly  1,000  years  ?  Perhaps  if  we  can  find  a  complete 
answer  to  this  question,  we  shall  be  able  to  find  a  right 
solution  to  the  subject  before  us  :  "How  to  reach  the 
educated  classes  of  Moslems."  The  source  of  attrac- 
tion is  surely  not  in  the  beauty  of  the  situation,  the 
splendour  of  the  building,  or  the  purity  of  the  atmos- 
phere, whether  looked  at  from  a  physical,  intellectual, 
moral,  or  spiritual  point  of  view.  Nor  is  it  due  to  any 
particular  deference  paid  by  the  foreigner  to  the  Egyp- 
tian Azhari  student,  for  they  generally  seem  to  despise 
them  for  their  dirtiness  of  habits,  clothing  and  manner 
of  life  generally.  And  the  fact  that  the  University  is 
in  a  land  where  foreign  political  influence  has  long 
been  paramount  ought  to  have  repelled  rather  than  at- 
tracted all  orthodox  Moslems.  To  our  minds  the  only 
satisfactory  answers  to  these  questions  are  as  follows  : 

(1)  It  is  universally  believed  among  Sunni  Moslems 
that  the  Arabic  language — the  sacred  language  of  Is- 
lam— is  better  taught  in  the  Azhar  than  anywhere  else. 
Of  course  with  our  western  and  scientific  ideas  we  shall 
dispute  the  point  and  rightly  so,  for  there  is  no  doubt 
that  from  the  Beyrout  College  students  are  turned  out 
better  Arabic  scholars  than  any  Moslem  sheikh  edu- 
cated at  the  Azhar.  But  this  fact  is  only  gradually 
getting  known,  and  even  then  a  large  number  of  these 
Syrians  are  engaged  in  literary  or  journalistic  work  in 


74         Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Cairo.  It  is  not  then  to  be  wondered  at  that  Cairo 
is  still  a  great  centripetal  force  to  the  Moslem 
world. 

(2)  It  is  everywhere  known  in  Moslem  lands  that 
Azhari  students  are  trained  in  all  the  Sunni  theology 
and  traditions,  laws,  ritual,  apologetics,  exegesis,  be- 
sides logic,  rhetoric,  history,  etc.,  and  the  curriculum 
has  long  been  fixed.  For  this  reason  the  professors 
nearly  all  rejected  the  would-be  reforms  of  Sheikh  Mo- 
hammed Abdu,  who  tried  in  vain  to  bring  the  institu- 
tion a  little  more  up-to-date.  "We  have  recently  seen 
that  the  Khedive  shares  the  opinion  of  the  majority 
for  he  secured  last  summer  the  resignation  of  the  late 
enlightened  Sheikh  ul  Azhar  from  headship  to  the  Uni- 
versity, though  the  post  is  always  held  for  life,  and  put 
in  his  place  a  man  of  the  most  conservative  type,  giv- 
ing out  publicly  that  he  would  not  favour  the  introduc- 
tion of  other  than  religious  education  into  the  place — 
doubtless  for  political  reasons. 

(3)  It  has  been  wisely  arranged  that  the  professorial 
chairs  are  open  to  sheikhs  of  many  different  countries 
and  though  it  is  natural  that  Egyptians,  Syrians, 
Turks,  and  Arabs  should  monopolize  most  of  these 
posts,  yet  theoretically  I  understand  they  are  open  to  all. 
And  the  style  of  teaching  given  is  thoroughly  Oriental, 
either  in  the  form  of  running  commentary  or  of  dia- 
logue, in  all  cases  the  students  being  allowed  to  ques- 
tion their  teacher  in  the  lesson  hour.  It  is  interesting 
by  the  way  to  find  that  the  English  professors  are  for 
this  reason  much  more  popular  than  the  French  in  the 
government  law  school  here  in  Cairo,  because  they  too 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  75 

lecture  on  the  "  case  system,"  and  allow  discussions  as 
the  subject  proceeds. 

(4)  Owing  to  the  wonderful  endowments  of  the  Uni- 
versity, education  is  entirely  free  and  open  to  all  classes. 
Not  only  so  but  doles  of  bread  are  free  also  to  every 
student  who  has  reached  his  second  or  third  year — (the 
course  for  Egyptians  now  lasts  nine  years).  This  dole 
increases  by  one  loaf  every  year,  and  so  that  older  stu- 
dents are  either  able  to  share  their  loaves  or  else  to  sell 
them  to  younger  and  less  fortunate  pupils.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  a  father  is  able  to  support  his  son  at  the 
Azhar  comfortably  in  an  expensive  city  like  Cairo,  on 
one  and  a  half  pounds  a  month,  even  if  he  sleeps  out- 
side the  premises  in  a  lodging.  But  many  are  able  to 
live  on  less  than  half  that  amount. 

And  yet  while  this  is  so,  the  funds  of  the  Azhar 
treasury  suffice  to  pay  250  professors  good  salaries.  It 
is  not  therefore  a  thing  to  be  despised  to  get  on  the  pro- 
fessorial staff  either  in  Cairo  or  in  branch  schools  man- 
aged by  the  National  Wakfs  in  the  provinces.  And  an 
able  student  is  certain  of  fair  remuneration  as  a  relig- 
ious teacher.    Such  education  is  in  fact  a  valuable  asset. 

Now  it  has  growiugly  seemed  to  us  that  the  continued 
existence  of  this  large  international  school  of  Moslem 
theology  constitutes  a  very  powerful  challenge  to  the 
Church  of  CJirist,  as  a  whole,  and  especially  those 
Christians  of  the  West  who  have  laid  upon  them  the 
burden  of  the  Moslem  world.  And  so,  in  order  to 
open  a  practical  discussion  we  do  not  propose  in  this 
paper  to  say  anything  about  the  various  methods  being 
employed  by  us,  or  our  American  brethren,  to  reach 


76  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

this  class  of  Oriental  students,  nor  to  tell  some  of  the 
thrilling  stories  of  the  few  Azhari  students  who  have 
become  active  Christians.  But  we  wish  to  lay  before 
this  representative  assembly  one  of  our  ideals  and 
practical  suggestions  for  the  cooperation  of  the  various 
missionary  societies  working  among  Moslems. 

I.  Ought  not  the  Christian  church  in  East  and  West 
to  be  able  to  cooperate  in  the  gradual  formation  of 
an  international  and  interdenominational  Christian  uni- 
versity in  Cairo  within  easy  access  of  the  Azhar  where 
(a)  the  Arabic  language  would  be  taught  as  well  as  any- 
where else  in  Arabic  speaking  lands?  (h)  the  jjro/es- 
sorial  chairs  would  be  filled  by  Christian  Arabic 
scholars  from  different  lands,  who  have  studied  the 
Moslem  controversy  and  are  able  to  meet  learned  Mos- 
lem sheikhs  on  their  own  ground  ?  (c)  the  range  of  in- 
struction and  hours  of  lectures  should  be  such  as  would 
attract  Azhari  students  and  Moslem  students  in  gov- 
ernment schools  to  the  lectures  so  given?  (d)  all 
promising  converts  from  Islam  in  different  lands  might 
be  sent  to  be  given  a  thorough  and  suitable  Christian 
education  to  fit  them  for  being  Christian  evangelists, 
teachers,  and  writers  in  the  days  to  come. 

II.  Might  not  a  beginning  be  made  without  delay  on 
a  small  scale,  by  providing  a  training  school  for  (the 
various  grades  of)  converts  from  Islam,  who  have  al- 
ready been  given  a  fair  Moslem  education  ?  And,  if 
such  a  special  school  were  started  how  far  would  the 
various  missionary  societies  and  boards  represented 
here  take  advantage  of  it,  and  what  measure  of  sup- 
port would  they  be  likely  to  give  to  the  scheme  ? 


Work  Among  Educated  Moslems  in  Cairo  77 

III.  If  such  a  training  class  were  established  for 
Moslem  converts,  how  far  would  the  various  missions 
at  work  in  all  the  Mohammedan  countries  encourage 
their  Chi'istian  evangelists  and  would-be  pastors  to 
spend  a  short  course  at  such  a  place,  in  order  to  study- 
how  to  become  more  efficient  workers  among  the  Mos- 
lems in  their  own  countries  when  they  return  ? 

IV.  If  the  idea  proved  successful  might  not  the 
various  missions  at  work  in  Cairo  have  hostels  at- 
tached to  their  work,  to  which  promising  Moslem  con- 
verts of  their  own  denominations  from  other  lands 
might  be  sent  by  those  who  have  brought  them  to 
Christ ;  during  the  course  of  their  training  due  oppor- 
tunity also  being  given  them  to  take  part  in  aggressive 
mission  work  among  Moslems  of  all  kinds,  in  the  city 
and  neighbourhood  ? 

V.  Would  this  not  be  likely  to  lead  to  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  native  writers,  who  could  in 
the  right  spirit  meet  the  growiugly  insidious  attacks 
of  educated  Moslems  upon  the  Christian  faith,  while 
helping  to  build  up  a  new  Oriental  school  of  Christian 
thought  of  a  constructive  kind  and  furthering  the 
growth  of  an  indigenous  and  vernacular  Christian  lit- 
erature 1 

VI.  May  it  not  be  that  God  has  providentially  led  to 
the  selection  of  this  city  for  the  holding  of  the  first ' 

•The  author  wrote  "Second  International  Conference,"  but  this 
is  a  mistake.  Several  conferences  have  been  held  in  India  and 
elsewhere,  at  which  the  subject  of  missions  to  Moslems  has  been 
discussed,  but  this  alone  may  be  dignified  as  a  world  conference  of 
missionaries  working  among  Moslems. — Editoe. 


yS  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

iuteruatioual  conference  of  missionaries  to  confer  about 
the  Moslem  world  in  order  that  those  present  may  be 
the  means  of  stirring  the  churches  of  the  West,  here 
to  plant  such  a  Christian  institution  as  shall  materially 
hasten  the  evangelization  of  Moslem  lands. 


LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS 
Eev.  W.  St.  Clair Tisdall,  M.  A.,  D.  D.,  C.  M.  S. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  insist  on  the  generally 
acknowledged  importance  of  the  preparation  of  suit- 
able Christian  vernacular  literature  for  the  benefit  of 
Moslems.  Every  missionary  in  Mohammedan  lands 
values  highly  such  literature  of  this  kind  as  already 
exists  in  the  languages  which  are  spoken  by  Moslems. 
But  we  all  confess  that  much  remains  to  be  done  before 
the  supply  of  Christian  books  will  be  at  all  adequate 
in  any  one  of  these  languages.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
one  result  of  the  present  conference  will  be  to  encour- 
age the  production  and  circulation  of  such  literature. 
This  constitutes  one  of  the  most  serious  tasks  which 
we  have  to  undertake  in  the  mission- field  to-day. 

The  subject  of  this  paper  naturally  divides  itself 
into  two  parts  : — (1)  an  enquiry  into  the  extent  of  our 
present  literature  for  Moslems  in  their  own  languages, 
and  (2)  a  consideration  of  what  still  requires  to  be  pro- 
vided. We  need  not  enter  into  the  question  of  the 
number  of  English  books  available  for  the  benefit  of 
Moslems,  because  so  few  Moslems,  comparatively 
speaking,  are  likely  to  be  directly  affected  by  them. 
Some  are,  however,  mentioned  in  Appendix  II.  ^ 

'  A  list  of  books  suitable  for  English  and  American  students  of 
Islam    ia  given  in  Appendix   II,    6,   to  my  India:  Its  Sistory, 

79 


8o  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

The  languages  mostly  spoken  by  Moslems  are : 
Arabic,  Persian,  Urdu,  Turkish  (Ottomau  and  Central 
Asiatic),  Pashto,  Bilochi,  Malay  (High  and  Low), 
Javanese,  Kisuaheli,  Haiisa  and  Kurdish  (various  dia- 
lects). Besides  these  there  are  some  40,000,000  who 
speak  Bengali,  perhaps  30,000,000  of  Chinese-speak- 
ing Moslems,  and  not  a  few  who  speak  Ki-Ganda. 
All  of  these  require  some  special  literature  adapted 
to  their  particular  religious  difficulties  and  dialectic 
peculiarities.  Other  languages  spoken  by  Moslems 
are :  Berber,  Kabyle,  Albanian  and  Kashmiri  and 
there  are  Moslem  dialects  of  Gujarati,  Panjibi  and 
other  tongues. 

I.  In  considering  to  what  extent  there  already  ex- 
ists any  Christian  literature  for  Moslems  in  their  own 
languages,  it  is  important  to  notice  that  the  Bible,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  has  now  been  translated  into  all  the 
main  tongues  and  into  many  of  the  subordinate  dialects 
which  they  speak.'  There  still  remains  much  to  be 
done  to  perfect  the  work  thus  begun,  but  it  is  a  matter 
for  great  thankfulness  to  find  that  nearly  every 
Moslem  who  can  read  can  obtain  in  his  own  language 
at  least  a  part  of  the  Word  of  God.  Many  of  these 
versions  are  admirable,  and  with  the  aid  of  the 
British  and    Foreign  and  other   Bible  Societies  we 


Darkness  and  Dawn  (S.  V.  M.  U,),  A  shorter  one  is  found  in 
Rev.  Dr.  Wherry's  Moslem  Controrersy,  Appendix  A,  and  one 
is  being  prepared  for  the  S.  V.  M.  U,  by  the  Rev.  Tissington 
Tatlow. 

'  Vide  Appendix  I. 


Literature  for  Moslems  8l 

caunot  doubt  that  this  department  of  literary  work 
will  be  carried  to  a  successful  termination. 

In  other  departments  of  Christian  literature  much 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  some  languages, 
little  or  nothing  in  others.'  Dealing  first  with  the 
less  important  tongues,  we  find  that  very  little  Chris- 
tian literature  especially  adapted  to  Moslems,  has  as 
yet  been  produced  in  Berber,  Kabyle  and  Albanian. 
In  the  Turkish  dialects  of  Central  Asia  there  are 
probably  no  Christian  books  except  parts  of  the  Bible. 
This  is  doubtless  true  also  with  regard  to  the  many 
Kurdish  dialects  that  exist,  and  also  to  Bilochi, 
Pashto,  Malay  (High  and  Low),  Javanese,  and  Ki- 
suaheli.  There  is  an  extensive  Christian  literature  in 
Chinese,  but  very  few  books  written  especially  for 
Moslems.  Kashmiri  Christian  literature  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  exist.  Much  the  same,  as  far  as  literature 
for  Moslems  is  concerned,  may  be  said  of  Ki-ganda 
and  Haiisa.  In  Ottoman  Turkish  there  are  a  few 
controversial  and  other  books,  but  very  few  indeed. 
In  Persian  we  have  already  made  a  good  beginning, 
as  the  list  given  in  Appendix  II  shows.  In  Arabic 
there  is  already  a  considerable  amount  of  Christian 
literature,  almost  all  suited  for  Moslems,  and  the 
mission  presses  at  Beirut  and  at  Cairo  afford  great 
opportunities  for  its  publication  in  greater  measure 
still.     In  Urdu'  there  is  a  larger  and  more  varied 

'  Vide  authorities  quoted  at  the  end  of  Appendix  III. 

*See  the  chief  controversial  Urdu  books  in  Rev.  Dr.  Wherry's 
Tlie  Moslem  Controversy  (Ch.  Lit.  Soc, ).  Also  Dr.  Weitbrecht's 
Catdlogtie  of  Urdu  Christian  Literature. 


82  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Christian  literature  for  Moslems  than  in  any  other 
language.  In  Bengali  also  a  great  deal  of  attention 
has  been  paid  to  this  subject,  and  works  have  been 
published  in  Musalm^ni  Bengali.  We  have  a  small 
number  of  books  for  Mohammedans  in  Panjabi,  but  I 
am  not  aware  of  any  in  Gujarati  as  yet. 

In  Appendix  II,  I  have  entered  some  of  the  principal 
books  for  Moslems  in  their  own  languages,  as  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  learn  about  them.  Fuller  lists 
might  be  compiled  from  the  authorities  there  cited. 
It  would  be  very  desirable  to  get  a  leading  missionary 
in  each  language-area  to  draw  up  a  complete  list  of 
all  such  books,  with  comments  upon  their  contents 
and  value,  similar  to  Dr.  Weitbrecht's  Descriptive 
Catalogue  and  Review  of  Urdu  Christian  Literature  and 
Dr.  Wherry's  The  Moslem  Controversy.  The  great 
mission  presses  and  Christian  literature  societies  have 
issued  catalogues,  but  these  do  not  always  distinguish 
from  others  the  books  suitable  for  Moslems,  and  a 
mere  list  of  names  is  not  enough.  Efforts  should  be 
made  to  keep  the  best  of  such  books  from  ever  going 
out  of  print.  Some  central  department  should  also 
exist  which  would  supply  information  on  the  subject 
of  the  books  already  in  existence  on  various  subjects, 
those  produced  in  different  fields  from  year  to  year, 
those  in  process  of  preparation,  and  those  which  are 
still  needed.  This  would  save  a  great  deal  of  un- 
necessary toil  and  expense. 

II.     We  now  proceed  to  enquire  what  classes  of 
works  still  require  to  be  provided,  and  what  steps 


Literature  for  Moslems  83 

should  be  taken  to  supply  the  need  which  is  so  much 
felt  in  many  parts  of  the  mission-field. 

When  we  remember  that  there  are  94,000,000 
Moslems  in  the  British  Empire  (far  more  than  the 
number  of  nominal  Christians)  and  some  260,000,000 
in  the  world,'  it  is  evident  that  the  task  of  providing 
suitable  Christian  literature  for  them  in  so  many 
different  languages  is  sufficient  to  task  all  our  energies. 
Every  one  of  their  numerous  languages  is  well  suited 
to  be  the  means  of  disseminating  Christian  truth,  as 
the  existence  of  versions  of  the  Bible  (partial  or  com- 
plete) in  them  conclusively  proves. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  too  much  attention  is 
sometimes  paid  to  the  production  of  controversial 
literature  and  too  little  to  the  preparation  of  books 
of  direct  Christian  instruction.  Of  course  some 
controversial  works  are  necessary,  but  they  should 
speak  the  truth  in  love,  and  this  has  not  always  been 
done.  Some  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  ImMu'ddin's  Urdu 
works,  able  as  they  are,  may  be  taken  as  examples  of 
books  which  may  excite  very  angry  feelings  in  the 
minds  of  Moslems.  I  am  inclined  to  agree  in  part  with 
what  the  Eev.  Dr.  Herrick"  says,  that  some  con- 
troversial works  "stir  bad  blood  and  slam  opening 
doors  in  our  faces."  In  all  works  on  the  Moslem 
controversy  this  should  be  carefully  and  prayerfully 
avoided.     Direct  attacks  on  a  man's  religion  generally 


'  Dr.  Hubert  Jansen,  in  Verbreitung  des  Mams. 

'  In  a  letter  to  me  from  Constantiuople  dated  16th  Sept.,  1905. 


84  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

exasperate  him  and  tend  to  repel  and  not  to  attract 
him  to  Christ,  which  is  after  all  the  one  aim  of  our 
work. ' 

In  every  Moslem  language  we  need  clearly  written 
books  to  show  what  the  Christian  faith  really  is  and 
what  it  is  not.  The  Quran  and  its  commentators  give 
entirely  false  views  about  leading  Christian  doctrines, 
(e.g.y  the  Trinity,  the  Nature  of  Christ,  His  Death  and 
His  Second  Advent),  and  these  require  correction  by 
clear  statements  of  the  truth  as  taught  in  the  Bible. 
Corrupt  forms  of  Christianity  are  prevalent  in  many 
Moslem  lands,  and  their  existence  renders  it  still  more 
necessary  for  Protestant  Christians  to  teach  what  they 
believe  and  practice.  The  increasing  prevalence  of  a 
knowledge  of  European  infidelity  and  attacks  upon  the 
Bible  render  it  most  important  to  supply  manuals  of 
Christian  evidences  and  so  to  appeal  to  the  intellect  of 
men  who  are  likely  otherwise  to  be  led  to  give  up 
Islam  for  Atheism,  Pantheism  or  Agnosticism.  We 
need  carefully  composed  commentaries  upon  the  differ- 
ent books  of  the  Bible.  Upon  these  points  it  is  impos- 
sible to  lay  too  much  stress. 

We  must  guard  against  the  idea  that  all  we  have  to 
do  is  to  translate  Christian  works  from  English  and 
other  European  languages  into  the  vernaculars  of  Mos- 
lem lands.     A  few,  a  very  few,  books  written  in  Europe 

■  "  I  would  much  rather  draw  people  on  by  showing  the  imper- 
fection of  what  is  good  in  their  belief  than  by  attacking  what  is 
bad.  The  latter  must  be  done  sometimes,  but,  even  then,  there 
are  two  ways  of  doing  it,  and  we  should  seek  to  irritate  as  little  as 
possible  "  (Dr.  Kouse,  in  a  letter  to  me). 


Literature  for  Moslems  85 

and  for  Europeans  may  be  useful  for  translation,  but 
the  great  mass  of  them  are  of  little  value  in  that  way. 
FilgrinVs  Progress  and  such  other  parables  as  some  of 
A.  L.  O.  E.'s  and  Mr.  Munro's  are  among  the  few  books 
which  may  be  useful  when  translated,  but  even  some 
of  these  need  to  be  carefully  adapted  to  the  various 
oriental  lands  in  which  it  may  be  proposed  to  use 
I  hem.  Even  such  works  as  Butler's  Analogy  should  be 
completely  rewritten  in  Arabic  and  other  oriental 
tongues,  and  the  arguments  brought  forward  in  an  ori- 
ental way  so  as  to  answer  erroneous  oriental  philosoph- 
ical ideas,  if  they  are  to  do  any  good.  Translations  of 
them  are  practically  worthless.  Much  the  same  may 
be  said  of  commentaries.  Our  commentators  explain 
what  to  an  oriental  needs  no  explanation  and  leave  un- 
explained passages  which  are  apt  to  be  perverted  in  the 
East  so  as  to  support  false  doctrines  which  are  incul- 
cated in  eastern  philosophies.  Hence,  in  order  to 
teach  Moslems  and  other  orientals,  commentaries, 
books  on  Christian  evidences,  and  all  kinds  of  Chris- 
tian literature,  should  be  composed  (not  translated)  by 
men  thoroughly  conversant  not  only  with  the  Bible 
and  Christian  theology  generally,  but  also  with  oriental 
thought  and  feeling.  Of  course  these  books  should  be 
composed  not  in  English  but  in  some  oriental  tongue. 
The  best  of  such  books  should  be  rendered  into  the 
leading  Moslem  languages,  and  not  left  only  in  one. 

In  consequence  of  the  seclusion  of  women  in  Moslem 
lands,  special  attention  should  be  devoted  to  the  prep- 
aration of  books  suited  to  their  limited  knowledge  and 
peculiar  circumstances.     In  some  languages  something 


86         Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  this  kind  has  already  been  done.  It  is  evident  that 
somewhat  different  kinds  of  Christian  literature  will  be 
needed  for  various  classes,  e.g.^  enquirers,  opponents, 
converts,  native  agents,  etc. 

Where  a  vernacular  literature  already  exists,  as  in 
Arabic,  Persian,  Urdu,  Turkish,  etc.,  it  is  necessary 
to  supplement  and  in  some  measure  to  supersede  cer- 
tain parts  of  it  by  a  distinctively  Christian  general  lit- 
erature. Those  who  are  educated  in  mission  or  gov- 
ernment schools  or  colleges  must  be  provided  with 
literature  of  a  good  moral  tone,  otherwise  their  learn- 
ing may  do  harm  instead  of  good. 

It  has  again  and  again  been  pointed  out  that  our 
missionary  societies  should  set  apart  special  men  (and 
women)  of  high  and  consecrated  talents  and  linguistic 
ability  in  each  language-area  for  literary  work,  just  as 
is  now  often  done  for  medical  and  educational  work. 
These  should  be  at  least  as  carefully  selected  and,  if 
necessary,  trained  as  for  either  of  the  other  departments 
we  have  named.  It  is  useless  to  assign  to  such  work  a 
missionary  who  is  old  and  feeble,  however  devoted  he 
may  have  been  in  other  departments,  and  who  has 
no  literary  ability,  merely  because  he  is  unable  to  do 
anything  else.  It  is  not  every  man  who  is  able  to  com- 
pose such  books  as  we  need  even  in  his  own  mother 
tongue,  and  still  less  can  every  missionary  be  expected 
to  succeed  in  producing  really  able  works  in  a  foreign 
language. 

Special  attention  should  be  devoted  to  the  training 
of  native  converts  of  promise,  with  a  view  to  fitting 
them  to  undertake  literary  work  in  their  own  vernacu- 


Literature  for  Moslems  87 

lars.  If  properly  trained  and  educated,  they  would 
doubtless  be  able  to  succeed  in  this  field  far  better  than 
foreigners  can  hope  to  do,  unless  in  exceptional  cases. 
We  should  urge  upon  the  missionary  societies  which 
we  represent  the  great  importance  of  cooperation  in 
literary  work,  in  order  to  prevent  overlapping  and 
waste  of  both  time  and  money.  The  work  which  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  is  doing  in  one 
department,  in  combining  the  efforts  of  various  mis- 
sions so  as  to  produce  proper  versions  of  the  Bible 
in  each  particular  language,  renders  this  cooperation 
easier  in  general  literary  work  and  illustrates  its  pos- 
sibility and  its  importance. 


APPENDIX  I 

Catalogue  showing  into  which  languages  spoken  by 
Moslems  as  their  vernaculars  the  Bible  has  been  trans- 
lated in  whole  or  in  part : 
Arabic :  whole  Bible. 
Persian  :  whole  Bible. 
Urdu :  whole  Bible. 
Turkish : 

Ottoman :  whole  Bible. 

Azarb^ij4ni :  whole  Bible. 

Uzbek  :  four  Gospels. 

Bashkir :  four  Gospels. 

JagatM :  St.  Matthew. 

Kalmuk  :  New  Testament. 

Karass :  New  Testament. 
Pashto  :  whole  Bible. 


88  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Bilochi :  portions. 
Malay : 

gjf  }  portions. 

Javanese :  portions. 

Kisuaheli :  whole  Bible. 

Hausa :  portions. 

Kurdish  : 

Kirmansh^hi  :  four  Gospels  ;  also,  the  New 
Testament  in  another  dialect  of  Kurdish, 
but  printed  in  Armenian  characters. 

Bengali  (Musalmani)  :  portions. 

Chinese  :  whole  Bible. 

Ki-ganda :  whole  Bible. 

Berber :  two  Gospels. 

Kabyle :  New  Testament. 

Albanian  :  New  Testament. 

Kashmiri :    whole    Bible    (but  not  in  Arabic 
character  for  Moslems). 

Gujar4ti :    whole    Bible,    but    not    in    Arabic 

character. 
Panjabi :  Bible  (parts  in  Arabic  character  and 

in  language  understood  by  Moslems). 


APPENDIX  II 

Some  leading  books  suitable  for  Moslems,  in  various 

Oriental  languages : 

Kashfu'l  Qur'dn  (UrdA  version  of  Eev.  Canon  Sell's 
Historical  Development  of  the  Qur'an). 

Da^watuH  Muslimin  (Urdti,  Arabic  and  Persian  ver- 
sions of  Sir  William  Muir's  Moslems  Invited  to 
Mead  the  Bible'). 


Literature  for  Moslems  89 

Mishdhu*  Eudd^  (Arabic  :  Cairo  :  translated  into  Eng- 
lish by  Sir  William  Muir,  The  Torch  of  Guid- 
ance). 

Mizdnu'l  Haqq  (Eev.  Dr.  Pfander:  Persian,  Urdii, 
Arabic,  Turkish,  Bengali,  English.  Needs  re- 
vision) . 

TariquH  Haydt  (do.  do.). 

Mifidhu'l  Asrdr  (do.  do.). 

IbhdthuH  Mujtahidin  (Ghabril,  Cairo  :  Arabic). 

Al  Hiddyah  (A  reply  to  IzhdruH  Haqq,  etc. ,  Cairo : 
Arabic,  in  five  volumes). 

Ithbdtu  SalbVl  Masih  (Eev.  Dr.  Kcelle  :  Arabic  :  Cairo  : 
also  in  English). 

Burhdnul  Jalil  (Arabic  :  Cairo). 

Saldmatu'l  Injil  (Arabic  :  Cairo). 

YandU'-u'l  Isldm  (Rev.  Dr.  Tisdall :  Persian,  Arabic 
version  MasadiruH  Isldm :  also  Urdu :  English 
The  Original  Sources  of  the  Qur^dn). 

Shu^d^hd-yi  Tdbandeh  (also  Urdu  :  Persian). 

3Iurdsildt-i  Dini  (also  Urdu  :  Persian). 

Hikmatu'd  DiydnaWl  Haqiqiyyah  (also  Urdti  :  Persian). 

Burhdn-i  Butldn  (also  UrdA  :  Persian). 

Lashkar-i  Muzaffar  (also  Urdti  :   Persian  version  of 

Monro's  The  Vast  Army). 
Niydzndmeh-yi  ^AbduH  Masih  (also  Urdu  :  Persian). 
Al  Bdkuratu'sh  Shahiyyah  (Arabic  :  Urdu  and  Persian 

versions,  English  epitome). 
VasUeh-yi    Najdt    (by  a    Persian    converted    Mulla : 

Persian). 
Pilgrim's  Progress  (Arabic,  Urdii,  Persian,  etc.). 
MandruH  Haqq  (Arabic  :  Urdu  and  Persian  versions, 

English  epitome). 
ShahddatuH    Qnr'dn   (revised   Persian   version   of    Sir 

William   Muir's   Testimony  Borne   by  the  Qur'dn: 

UrdHf  Persian). 


90  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Rasdlatu'l  KUidt  CAjrabic :  UrdA,  Persian  aud  Eng- 
lish). 

Mdl-i  Ndtiq  (UrdCi  version  of  Dr.  Piersou's  Many  In- 
fallible Proof  a). 

Masih  Ibnu'lldh  (Urdu  version  of  Vaughau's  What 
think  ye  of  Christ  ?) 

Amhdlu'l  Ma'minin  (Urdfi :  Rev.  Ahmed  Shah). 

Al  Haqq  (Urdu,  three  volumes,  Eev.  Ahmed  Shah). 

rjdzuH  Qurdn  (Urdu,  Prof.  Earn  Chandra). 

EiddyatuH  Mudimin  (Urdu  :  Eev.  Dr.  'Im^du'ddin). 

Ta'lim-i  Muhammadi  (Urdii  :  Eev.  Dr.  'Im^du'ddin). 

Tawd7'ikh-i  3Iuhammadi  (Urdu. :  Eev.  Dr.  'Imadu'ddiu). 

Tanqidu'l  Qur'dn  (Urdu  :  Eev.  Dr.  'Imfidu'ddiu). 

TanqiduU  Ehiydldt  (four  parts  Urdd :  Eev.  Dr. 
'Imadu'ddin). 

TahqiquH  Imdn  (Urdd :  Eev.  Dr.  'ImMu'ddiu). 

Urdu  Version  of  the  Qur'dn  (Eev.  Dr.  'Imridu'ddiu). 

Tahrif-i  Qur'dn  (Urdu  :  Prof.  Eam  Chandra). 

EalluH  Ashkdl  (Eev.  Dr.  Pfauder  :  Urdu). 

Izhdr-i  'Isawi  (Eev.  G.  L.  Th^kur  Dds  :  Urdu). 

^Adam-i  Zariirat-i   Qur'dn  (Eev.  G.  L.  Th^ikur  DAs: 

Urdti). 
Siratu'l  Masih  w^al  Muhammad  (Eev.  G.  L.  Th^kur 

D4s:  Urd<i). 
Muhammad    bi-kardmat    (Eev.    G.    L.    Th^ikur    Bhs : 

Urdu). 
Infsdl-i  Wilddat-i   Masih  (Eev.    G.   L.   ThCikur  DSs : 

Urdu). 
Nidz-Ndma  (Maulavi  Safdar  'Ali :  Urdfi). 
Tigh   o  Sipar-i  'Isawi  (Eev.   C.  W.  Forman,  D.  D.  : 

Urdfi). 

Khutut  ha-ndm-i  Javdndn-i  Hind  (Eev.  Dr.  Murray 
Mitchell :  Urdii,  Bengali  and  English). 


Literature  for  Moslems  91 

Eev.  Dr.  Wherry's  TJrdA  tracts. 

Al    JauharuH    Qar'dn    (Sayyid    'Abdu'114h    Athim : 
Urdti). 

Short   Papers  on   Islam  (Eev.    Dr.    Eouse :    Bengali, 
Urdti,  English). 

Tracts  for  Mohammedans  (Eev.  Dr.  Eouse  :  Bengali, 
Urdu,  English). 

^Aqdid-i  Mdmiyyah.  (Eev.  Canon  Sell :  Urdu  version 
of  his  The  Faith  of  Islam). 

Guldasta-i  Isrdr-i  Ildhi  (Bishop  Lefroy  :  Urdu). 

Injil-i  Ddud  (Bishop  French  :  Urd(i). 

Tuhfatu'l '  Vlamd  (Eev.  Dr.  Brodhead :  Urdli). 

Rdh-i  Najdt  (Mohammed  Hanif :  Urdu). 

Iddi'd-yi  Ismwil  (Akbar  Masih  :  Urdti). 

Tracts  by  Mr.  J.  Monro,  Bengali  and  English. 

Isldm  Darshan  (J.  Biswas,  Bengali). 

Sachchd  Diner  Rdhd  (Sir  William  Muir :  Bengali  and 
English). 

Isldm  (P.  Biswas  :  Bengali). 

The  Claims  of  Mohammed  (Bengali), 

Christ  in  Isldm  (Goldsack  :  Bengali,  Urdti,  English). 

RisdlatiCd  Dalil  ila*  siivd-i^s  Sabil  (Arabic). 

The  Life  of  Kdmil  (Eev.  Dr.  Jessup  :  English  and 
Urdti). 


In  Urdd  there  are  the  Christian  journals  Nur  Afshdn 
and  Taraqqi,  and  in  Arabic  Ash  Sharq  waH  Oharb  (or 
Orient  and  Occident^  partly  in  English  and  partly  in 
Arabic).  The  publication  of  similar  journals  in  other 
languages  is  very  desirable. 


In  Ottoman  Turkish  the  Eev.  Dr.  Herrick  mentions 
books  on  Natural  Theology,  Belief  and  Worship,  and 


g2  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Manliness.  There  have  been  translated  into  the 
language  a  few  English  books,  such  as  Whateley's 
Christian  Evidences  and  Pilgrim's  Progress. 


In  Chinese  the  only  books  which  seem  to  be  in  any 
special  degree  adapted  for  Moslems  are : — Moham- 
medanism and  Christianity  (Rev.  D.  Mac  Gillivray). 

Comparative  Religion  [Mohammedanism,  Buddhism, 
Hinduism  and  Confucianism  compared  with  Chris- 
tianity (Kev.  D.  Mac  Gillivray). 

Testimony  of  the  first  converts  among  the  Karens^ 
Pdrsis  and  Afghdns. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  '■Imddu'ddin^  a  convert  from  Moham- 
medanism (Dr.  Y.  J.  Allen). 


APPENDIX  in 

Some  Desiderata 
'    The  Eev.   Dr.  Eouse  suggests  the  preparation  of 
books  or  tracts  in  Moslem  languages  on  the  lines  in- 
dicated below. 

1.  Devotional  tracts  and  books  appealing  to  the 
heart,  treatiug  man  as  a  sinner  who  needs  to  be  saved. 
("Our  books  have  often  beeu  too  controversial,  merely 
appealing  to  the  intellect.^'') 

2.  Take  up  the  good  things  in  Islam,  and  show 
how  they  are  perfected  in  the  gospel. 

3.  Quotations  from  the  Qur'An  which  are  good. 
Show  their  fulfillment  in  the  gospel.  Show  wherein 
they  are  imperfect. 


Literature  for  Moslems  g3 

4.  Wliat  is  the  Christian  religion  ?  Explain  mis- 
conceptions in  regard  to  it. 

5.  The  essence  of  the  Christian  Din  as  well  as  the 
Christian  Imdn. 

6.  Names  and  titles  of  Christ  in  the  Gospels. 

7.  What  Mohammed  and  Christ  respectively  said 
each  of  himself. 

8.  The  true  nature  of  sin  and  the  need  of  an 
atonement. 

9.  What  is  heaven,  and  how  can  we  get  there  ? 

10.  We  need  a  present  salvation  :  the  gospel  alone 
provides  this  :  present  power  to  conquer  sin,  peace  of 
mind,  sense  of  reconciliation  with  God,  a,  present  In- 
tercessor. 

11.  The  doctrine  of  sacrifice :  Jewish,  Moslem  and 
Christian. 

12.  Does  true  religion  consist  in  being  a  slave  or  a 
son? 

13.  The  Holy  Spirit  and  His  work. 

14.  Need  of  a  new  heart :  it  is  met  in  Christ. 

15.  Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation. 

16.  God  and  man,  their  relation.  Man  made  in 
God's  image.  What  man  is  capable  of.  Created, 
fallen,  redeemed. 

17.  Man  a  social  being  :  is  not  his  creator  social  ? 
''He  that  formed  the  eye,  etc."  A  social  God  implies 
a  Trinity. 

18.  A  living  Saviour,  not  a  dead  prophet. 

19.  Heart  religion  as  distinguished  from  formalism. 

20.  Satan  and  how  to  be  delivered  from  him. 

21.  Sin  and  its  remedy. 


94  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

22.  Kepentance  and  faith. 

23.  Comparison    between    the    F4tihah    and    the 
Lord's  Prayer. 


Vide: — Catalogues  of  the  Christian  Literature  So- 
ciety for  India,  Panjab  Religious  Book  Society,  Ee- 
ligious  ■  Tract  Society,  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge  among  the  Chinese, 
Price  List  of  Publications  of  the  American  Press  at 
Beirut,  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Urdti  Christian 
Literature,  Classified  Catalogue  of  Christian  Literature 
in  Bengal  and  Assam  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  Dr.  "Wherry's  The  Moslem  Controversy. 

Under  the  topic  of  "Literature  for  Moslems,"  Dr. 
Herrick  spoke  with  profound  gratitude  for  the  privi- 
lege of  devoting  eight  years  of  his  life  to  the  work  of 
giving  the  Bible  to  those  using  the  Osmanli  Turkish, 
and,  referring  to  his  colleagues  in  the  work  said  that 
of  seven  men  who  met  around  a  table  in  an  upper 
room  of  the  Bible  House  all  but  himself  and  his  be- 
loved brother,  Rev.  R.  H.  Weakley  of  Alexandria, 
have  passed  over  into  the  endless  life. 

Dr.  H.  then  mentioned  two  books  prepared  by  him 
forty  years  ago,  one  a  commentary  on  the  first  two 
Gospels,  which  never  had  a  wide  circulation  and  the 
other  a  primer  of  sixty -three  pages,  of  which  63,000 
copies  were  printed,  the  first  book  of  its  kind  in 
Turkish,  and  which  furnished  a  model  for  other  ex- 
cellent books  which  have  superseded  it  and  which  now 
enable  Turkish  children  to  understand  what  they  read, 
as  in  former  years  they  could  npt  do,  because  whatever 


Literature  for  Moslems  95 

they  did  then  read  was  in  Arabic.  Dr.  H.  emphasized 
the  importance  of  writing  for  different  classes  of  the 
people,  referred  to  one  book  on  Christian  Belief  and 
Worship  issued  some  years  ago,  and  one  intended  to 
stem  the  set  of  the  tide  among  educated  young  men, 
towards  Atheism,  on  Natural  Theology.  He  ex- 
pressed the  conviction  that  it  is  mainly  through  their 
own  vernacular  that  any  race  of  men  can  be  led  to 
Christ.  He  also  gave  some  striking  illustrations  of 
the  rigidity  of  the  censorship,  and  their  desire  to  ex- 
scind from  the  Bible  certain  texts  calculated  to  reflect 
against  the  oppressions  of  government. 

Bev.  Mr.  Thornton :  I  should  like  to  offer  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  : 

1.  That  an  International  Committee  on  Mohamme- 
dan literature  should  be  established  to  prevent  over- 
lapping, to  draw  up  full  lists  and  to  announce  coming 
publications. 

2.  Something  should  be  done  to  strengthen  the 
Nile  Mission  Press.  It  should  be  placed  on  a  solid 
basis.     Five  thousand  pounds  required. 

3.  A  temporary  sub-committee  should  be  appointed 
to  report  before  the  close  of  the  conference. 

Dr.  Wherry :  That  committee  should  be  composed 
of  the  representatives  of  the  publishing  houses  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  a  literature  for  Moslems. 

8.  M.  Jordan  :  I  would  like  to  call  attention  to  a 
book  on  Christian  doctrine  called  Boots  and  Branches. 
It  should  be  translated  into  all  Moslem  languages. 

Bev.  Mr.  GoldsacJc :  The  book  may  be  secured  from 
Madras  for    twopence.     It    is  now  being  printed  in 


96  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Arabic.  The  BeDgalis  have  recognized  the  power  of 
the  press  and  are  meeting  us  through  the  press.  We 
have  not  a  large  literature  in  Bengali.  We  have  a 
small  but  growing  literature  for  Mohammedans. 

Dr.  Zwemer :  At  the  next  conference  we  hope  that 
there  will  be  an  exhibit  of  literature  for  Mohammedans 
in  different  languages. 

Bemarks  on  the  Subject  of  Br.  TisdalVs  Paper  : 

Br.  Weitbrecht:  It  was  only  after  I  came  to  this 
meeting  that  I  learned  it  would  fall  to  my  lot  to  open 
this  discussion  ;  hence  I  would  ask  you  to  excuse  any 
lack  of  continuity  in  my  remarks.  We  lament  the 
absence  of  the  paper  because  of  the  importance  of  the 
subject.  We  want  to  have  the  work  stimulated  for 
the  future.  The  literature  for  the  Moslem  is  the 
greatest  power  we  have  at  our  command.  The  discov- 
ery of  gunpowder  and  the  invention  of  the  printing 
press  marked  epochs  in  the  world's  history.  Gun- 
powder prevented  barbaric  outbreaks,  and  the  printing 
press  became  the  weapon  against  ignorance.  How 
may  we  turn  this  weapon  to  the  most  effective  possible 
use  ?  I  would  speak  of  the  different  kinds  of  literature 
in  dealing  with  Moslems.  (1)  Controversial.  (2)  De- 
votional. (3)  General  literature,  not  of  a  definitely 
religious  kind. 

1.  Controversial. — This  will  be  treated  more  fully 
when  we  come  to  the  subject  in  the  paper  on  contro- 
versy over  Moslems. 

(a)  I  believe  that,  not  only  in  India,  but  also  in 
Arabia,  we  want  to  be  careful  about  our  literature  in 


Literature  for  Moslems  97 

more  ways  than  oDe.  It  needs  revising.  Some  ■works 
outgrow  their  usefulness.  Pfander  for  instance. 
Christians  should  accordingly  revise  many  of  the  old 
works  and  make  them  suitable  to  the  needs  of  modern 
life.  There  are  many  educated  Mohammedans  and  in 
a  way  they  are  up-to-date.  They  will  bring  forward 
the  latest  ideas  of  Oxford  and  Berlin.  It  is  necessary 
that  we  should  be  able  to  meet  our  opponents  on  the 
ground  they  occupy. 

(&)  Then  in  addition  to  this  we  should  remember 
in  our  controversies  the  great  advantages  that  come 
from  the  increase  of  knowledge  of  the  religions  of  non- 
Christian  peoples.  A  study  of  comparative  religion 
makes  us  to  look  upon  other  religions  in  a  different 
way.  What  they  ignorantly  worship  we  have  to  de- 
clare unto  them. 

(c)  Also  we  ought  to  be  absolutely  fair.  Use  an 
argument  only  if  it  is  a  fair  one.  and  not  one  that  they 
might  reasonably  use  against  us. 

2.  Devotional. — When  we  wish  to  bring  our  holy 
faith  before  the  Mohammedans  we  should  remember 
that  they  rest  upon  the  same  fundaments  that  we  do. 
We  must  give  them  the  Christian  faith  in  a  way  to 
draw  out  the  devotional  instincts.  Especially  effective 
has  been  a  series  of  meditations  and  prayers  prepared 
respectively  for  non-Christians,  inquirers  and  converts. 

3.  General  Literature. — I  suppose  all  of  us  know  of 
the  way  in  which  the  native  press  is  developing.  In 
India  there  are  many  small  papers  printed  in  English, 
some  of  which  I  now  show  you.  You  can  readily  see 
how  our  Christian  papers  have  been  imitated-     We 


98  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

must  emphasize  the  value  of  good  sound  reading  with 
a  Christian  tone.  Each  society  should  give  its  best  at- 
tention to  the  distribution  of  literature.  Do  not  put 
it  upon  the  colporteurs,  for  they,  as  a  rule,  are  a  de- 
pressed class.  Let  the  work  be  taken  up  by  the  mis- 
sionaries themselves.  It  is  our  duty  to  put  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  people,  after  having  got  to  know  it  our- 
selves. Every  missionary  should  have  a  catalogue  of 
the  works  that  bear  upon  the  phases  of  the  missionary 
enterprise  in  which  he  is  engaged. 

There  should  be  a  literature  exchange  office  for  the 
literatui-e  published  in  all  Mohammedan  lands.  This 
would  prevent  a  great  deal  of  overlapping.  I  shall 
bring  this  matter  before  the  executive  committee. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Wherry :  In  regard  to  literature  for 
Moslems  it  may  be  fairly  said  that  its  character  was  in 
a  great  measure  determined  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  C.  G. 
Pfander,  who  wrote  the  Mizdn  ul  Saqq,  first  in  the 
Persian  and  afterwards  in  the  Urdu  language.  Being 
obliged  to  leave  Persia,  he  went  to  India,  where  he 
issued  his  masterpiece.  The  Tariq  ul  Haydt  (  The  Way  of 
Life),  than  which  nothing  better  has  yet  been  pro- 
duced, as  a  sympathetic  and  forceful  presentation  of 
the  claims  of  the  gospel  upon  every  intelligent  Moslem. 
Then  followed  the  controversial  books,  Miftah  id 
Asrar,  or  {Key  to  the  Mysteries)  an  apologetic  work 
on  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  and  the  mysteries  of  the 
Trinity.  As  a  result  of  these  works  a  long  continued 
controversy  arose  which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of 
several  Mohammedans  of  note. 

This  controversy  was  continued  by  a  number  of 


Literature  for  Moslems  99 

learned  men,  whose  names  are  known  to  all  men  in 
India :  Syad  Maulvie  Safdar  Ali,  Maulvie  Imaduddin, 
Syad  Abdullah  Athim,  Munshi  Mohammed  Hanif, 
Eev.  Eajjab  Ali,  Babu  Earn  Chandar,  Eev.  G.  T. 
Thakur  Dass,  and  others.  The  spirit  of  controversy 
grew  out  of  the  conditions  under  which  these  men 
wrought  and  while  much  in  the  tone  and  temper  of 
these  writings  is  to  be  regretted,  we  can  hardly  see 
how  controversy  could  have  been  avoided.  Moslem 
hearers  will  not  allow  the  Christian  to  preach  without 
strong  opposition.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  missionary's 
duty  to  control  his  temper  and  to  set  forth  the  truth 
in  a  dispassionate  manner. 

The  literature  needed  should  undertake  a  twofold 
duty : 

(1)  It  should  set  forth  in  a  didactic  form  the  facts 
concerning  the  Moslem's  faith,  giving  Islam  credit  for 
whatever  of  truth  is  found  in  the  system.  The  truth 
wherever  found  is  God's  truth  and  will  not  contradict 
the  gospel. 

(2)  We  should  show  what  Christianity  is,  setting 
forth  men's  lost  condition  and  the  remedy  which  God 
has  made  for  sin  in  the  Atonement  wrought  out  on 
Calvary  by  the  crucifixion  and  death  of  Jesus.  "We 
shall  then  be  ready  to  set  forth  the  resurrection,  the 
endurance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  newness  of  life 
found  by  faith  in  Jesus. 

Among  the  most  useful  books  published  are  the 
Sweet  First  Fruits  published  in  Urdu  under  the  title  of 
Asmdri  Shirin  and  a  little  book  by  Dr.  Dotter  of 
Teheran,  Persian,  published  in  English  under  the  title 


loo        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  RooU  and  Branches,  setting  forth  the  fundamental 
teachings  as  to  Christian  faith  and  practice.  A  most 
useful  series  of  papers  by  Dr.  Rouse  of  Calcutta  have 
been  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  also  in  a  single 
volume  by  the  Christian  Literature  Society  of  Madras, 
and  in  Urdu  by  the  Punjab  Branch  of  the  same  society 
at  Ludhiana.  They  may  be  obtained  at  the  depot  of 
the  Religious  Book  Society,  Lahore.  A  translation  of 
Canon  Sell's  Progressive  Development  of  the  Quran  has 
also  been  prepared  by  Munshi  Mohammed  Ismail 
under  the  superintendence  and  with  the  help  of 
Rev.  E.  M.  Wherry,  D.  D.,  Honourary  Secretary, 
Punjab  Branch,  C.  L.  S.,  Ludhiana,  and  published 
by  the  Punjab  Religious  Book  Society,  Lahore. 

These  books,  with  many  more  recently  translated 
and  published  by  Mr.  Fazl,  assistant  secretary  Punjab 
Religious  Book  Society,  form  a  literature  exceedingly 
well  fitted  to  place  in  the  hands  of  Mohammedan 
readers. 


VI 

MEDICAL  MISSIONS 
F.  J.  Haepee,  M.  B. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  you  that  we  have 
the  very  highest  authority  for  combining  "healing 
and  preaching,"  both  in  the  example  of  Christ  Him- 
self and  His  directions  to  His  disciples,  and  of  all  the 
methods  adopted  by  Christian  missionaries  in  Moslem 
lands  none  have  been  more  successful  in  breaking 
down  prejudice  and  bringing  large  numbers  of  people 
under  the  sound  of  the  gospel.  At  the  mission  dis- 
pensary thousands  hear  a  little,  and  those  who  are 
treated  as  in-patients  go  back  to  their  homes  with  a 
very  different  idea  of  Christianity  than  when  they 
came.  As  the  number  of  patients  increases,  there  are 
more  and  more  opportunities  for  evangelistic  work, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  the  successful  treatment  of 
one  or  two  cases  brings  a  crowd  of  patients  from  one 
village,  200  or  more  coming  to  the  dispensary  in  one 
year. 

No  delay  should  occur  before  that  district  is  visited, 
for  perhaps  these  numbers  may  cease  to  come  and  so 
the  most  favourable  opportunity  may  be  lost.  Any 
worker  from  the  medical  mission  is  heartily  welcomed 
by  former  patients  and  their  friends  and  sometimes  it 
is  most  encouraging  to  hear  how  much  they  remember 


102        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  what  they  have  learned  while  staying  at  the 
hospital  or  dispensary. 

Outstations  must  be  formed,  or  much  of  the  work 
will  go  for  nothing,  and  the  responsibility  will  lie  with 
us  medical  missionaries,  for  our  hospitals  draw  many 
patients  from  entirely  Moslem  districts  where  no  mis- 
sionaries are  working.  Here  again  medical  work  may 
be  a  great  help  as  a  liioneering  agency,  for  by  it  we  are 
at  once  brought  in  close  contact  with  the  people. 

May  I  illustrate  this  from  my  own  experience  as  it 
has  lately  been  my  privilege  to  have  been  engaged  in 
this  branch  of  the  work.  My  wife  and  I  and  an  oc- 
casional fellow  worker  have  lived  on  a  houseboat  which 
has  been  towed  to  a  convenient  centre  on  one  of  the 
large  canals  of  the  delta.  We  generally  stay  some 
months  at  each  centre,  as  this  enables  me  to  undertake 
the  treatment  of  long  cases  such  as  Anchylostomiasis 
(Egyptian  anaemia).  When  in  the  province  of  Menu- 
feyah  in  the  early  part  of  1905,  the  principal  dispen- 
sary was  in  a  hired  house  in  a  village  close  by,  but 
friends  from  another  village  about  a  mile  away  offered 
me  one  of  the  best  houses  in  their  village  at  a  nominal 
rent,  where  I  held  a  weekly  dispensary  and  it  became 
also  quite  a  recognized  thing.  There  would  be  a  lan- 
tern meeting  every  Monday  evening,  when  we  went 
through  a  series  of  slides  on  the  life  of  our  Lord.  We 
have  many  friends  in  that  village  and  I  trust  that  this 
will  be  the  beginning  of  permanent  work  there. 

We  are  constantly  reminded  in  the  mission  field 
that  God  uses  different  agencies  to  carry  out  His  pur- 
poses ;  the  two  following  cases  illustrate  this  :    Some 


Medical  Missions  103 

years  ago  a  little  girl  was  in  the  Old  Cairo  hospital  for  a 
long  time  suffering  from  a  diseased  bone  in  her  leg. 
There  she  learned  in  a  childish  way  to  believe  in 
Christ,  and  as  her  father  lived  in  Cairo,  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  when  she  left  the  hospital  she  should  go  to 
the  C.  M.  S.  girls'  school  at  Babel  Louk,  where  she  was 
soon  taken  as  a  boarder.  She  is  now  grown  up,  and 
is,  we  believe,  a  true  follower  of  Christ,  but  her  father 
will  not  allow  her  to  be  baptized.  The  other  case  was 
a  man,  who,  before  he  went  to  the  hospital,  attended 
evangelistic  meetings  in  Cairo,  with  the  purpose  of 
causing  disturbance,  but  while  staying  at  Old  Cairo 
for  a  course  of  treatment  he  was  so  influenced  by  the 
life  of  the  late  Dr.  A.  C.  Hall  that  when  he  left  the 
hospital  he  again  attended  the  evangelistic  meetings, 
but  now  as  an  inquirer.  He  was  afterwards  baptized 
and  is  now  an  evangelist.  May  we  not  expect,  with 
God's  blessing,  similar  results  in  other  cases  if  we,  or 
other  missionaries,  are  able  to  keep  in  touch  with 
those  whose  prejudices  have  been  removed  by  their 
stay  at  a  medical  mission. 


Iba  Haeeis,  M.  D. 
I  presume  that  those  who  are  responsible  for  the 
program  of  this  conference  were  so  sure  of  the  value 
of  medical  missions,  and  that  the  fact  was  so  well 
known  they  deemed  it  unnecessary  for  medical  mis- 
sionaries to  prepare  papers  to  present  here.  As  I  did 
not  know  I  would  be  called  upon  to  help  open  this  dis- 
cussion,  therefore  what  I  have  to  say  will  be  frag- 


104       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

mentary,   out  of  my  otiti  experience  of  tirenty-two 
years  upon  the  field. 

We  can  always  hold  the  attention  of  Moslems  in  pre- 
senting gospel  truth,  if  we  go  at  it  in  the  right  way. 
We  have  only  failed  in  two  instances.  First,  at  one 
large  village  our  service  was  broken  up  by  the  relig- 
ious sheikh  taking  the  people  away.  Second,  in  a 
large  town  in  the  Inseireh  Mountains  by  orders  of  the 
government  a  notice  was  sent  by  the  Kaimakam  at  the 
seat  of  government  six  hours  away,  and  this  was 
posted  upon  the  walls  of  the  mosque,  forbidding  all 
from  visiting  the  doctor,  and  especially  from  receiving 
tracts  and  scriptures.  Two  mounted  policemen  were 
sent  to  see  that  these  orders  were  strictly  carried  out. 
These  men  were  weary  from  overwork  and  lack  of 
sleep,  so  gladly  accepted  a  small  bribe  from  the  father 
of  a  boy  who  was  sick,  to  return  to  their  station  and 
report  that  the  doctor  was  no  longer  in  the  village 
(unknown  to  me  at  the  time,  however).  All  that  day 
and  the  next  not  a  person  visited  us.  On  the  third  day 
the  people  took  courage  and  we  had  a  busy  day.  Half 
an  hour  before  sunset  Mrs.  Nelson  had  her  organ  taken 
outside  the  tent  door  and  began  to  sing  hymns.  Soon 
she  had  an  audience  of  over  250  men  and  boys,  and  Dr. 
Nelson  gave  them  a  rousing  talk  on  Christ  and  His 
message.  So  interested  were  they,  they  did  not  hear 
the  sunset  call  to  prayer.  Sixty-eight  per  cent,  of  our 
patients  are  Moslem  or  non -Christian,  and  over  fifty 
per  cent,  are  women  and  girls.  However  it  may  be  in 
other  fields,  the  prejudice  of  Moslem  women  against 
being  treated  by  men  is  not  manifest  in  our  case.     The 


Medical  Missions  105 

first  year  I  treated  only  175  women ;  last  year  over 
2,500.  I  trust  that  all  ordained  men  who  are  not  phy- 
sicians in  this  room  who  have  medical  work  in  their 
stations,  do  not  neglect  to  visit  and  preach  to  the 
waiting  crowd  at  the  clinics.  You  pay  for  opportunities 
to  reach  the  Moslems,  and  tell  them  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  Do  not  neglect  this  best  of  all  opportunities. 
It  is  possible  Satan  may  tell  you  that  your  duties  are 
elsewhere,  but  do  not  heed. 

Also  do  not  expect  your  medical  missionary  to  spend 
much  time  in  the  preparation  of  sermons,  examination 
of  schools,  or  to  do  much  of  the  many,  many  things 
that  fall  to  the  lot  of  an  ordained  man  to  do,  for  time 
is  precious  to  a  medical  man,  especially  if  he  has 
much  surgery  to  do,  for  in  a  great  measure,  his  future 
success  and  usefulness  depend  upon  how  well  he  per- 
forms his  task. 

The  greater  his  success  in  the  cure  of  disease,  the 
greater  his  influence  with  the  people  he  wishes  to 
help  to  know  gospel  truth.  Yet  the  medical  mis- 
sionary must  not  forget  for  a  moment  that  he  isjirst  an 
evangelist,  secondly  a  physician.  His  skill  is  the 
means  to  an  end.  It  is  his  duty  to  present  the  truth 
in  simple  talks,  illustrations,  or  have  his  assistants  do 
it  under  his  immediate  direction.  I  could  give  many 
incidents  of  the  way  in  which  a  medical  man  can  open 
the  way  to  an  acceptance  of  gospel  preaching,  but 
there  are  several  of  my  colleagues  who  wish  to  be 
heard,  so  I  gladly  give  way  to  them. 

Professor  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh,  said  :  The  Med- 
ical Missionary  Society,  which  was  founded  in  Edin- 


io6        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

burgh  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  did  valuable  mission 
work  in  one  of  the  city  slums,  where  the  students  whom 
they  trained  for  mission  work  abroad  got  experience  in 
evangelizing  the  lapsed.  The  most  important  part  of 
the  society's  work  was  the  training  of  students  of  both 
sexes  for  medical  service  in  the  various  mission  fields, 
and  men  and  women  from  their  ranks  were  found  in 
connection  with  churches  and  missionary  societies  of 
all  denominations.  It  charged  itself  also  with  the  sup- 
port of  medical  missions  in  Nazareth,  Damascus  and 
Agra,  so  that  it  had  an  immediate  interest  in  the  for- 
eign field.  He  thought  it  was  not  right  to  send  an 
evangelist  to  a  new  field  unaided  by  a  medical  mission- 
ary. People  were  apt  to  resent  the  intrusion  of  a 
preacher  who  came,  as  they  supposed,  to  attack  their 
religion. 

The  medical  man  they  found  at  once  to  be  on  their 
side  in  their  conflict  with  disease  and  death,  and  so 
were  prepared  to  find  that  he  was  on  their  side  also  in 
the  spiritual  conflicts  from  which  none  are  free.  It 
was  a  medical  missionary,  his  old  friend  and  fellow 
student,  Dr.  Maxwell,  who  had  been  used  of  God  to 
open  Formosa  to  the  gosx)el  in  our  time,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Mackay  of  Canada  who  worked  so  successfully  in 
the  northern  part  of  that  island,  tells  very  quaintly 
how  he  often  got  his  first  opportunity  of  preaching 
the  gospel  to  people  whose  sympathy  he  had  won  by 
extracting  the  teeth  of  the  sufferers  from  toothache. 

It  was  to  be  remembered,  further,  that  medical  mis- 
sionaries had  facilitated  the  progress  of  the  gospel  by 
the  training  in  medicine  they  gave  to  native  converts. 


Medical  Missions  107 

and  by  the  translation  into  their  languages  of  works  in 
medicine  and  the  cognate  sciences  which  helped  power- 
fully to  dispel  some  of  the  delusions  associated  with 
their  religious  systems. 

Eev.  Br.  J.  8.  Twipany  said :  My  society,  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  though  one  of  the 
oldest  and  largest,  has  not  until  recently,  I  regret  to 
say,  seen  its  way  clear  to  engage  extensively  in  med- 
ical missionary  work,  like  most  other  large  missionary 
societies.  This  has  been  especially  true  of  its  work  in 
India.  Having  been  especially  successful  in  the  evan- 
gelistic work  in  some  parts  of  the  field,  our  society  has 
confined  itself  more  especially  to  that,  to  the  neglect  of 
the  medical  work.  The  Women's  Auxiliary  of  our  so- 
ciety has,  however,  carried  on  some  medical  work,  in 
various  parts  of  the  mission,  more  especially  in  the 
Deccan  among  Moslems. 

I  was  the  sixth  missionary  to  have  charge  of  my  sta- 
tion in  seven  years.  When  we  first  went  there,  the 
people  generally  were  not  friendly,  and  it  was  only  by 
slowly  winning  his  way,  that  the  missionary  has  gained 
a  large  place  in  the  hearts  and  confidence  of  the 
people. 

One  speaker  has  just  said  that  a  medical  missionary 
should  not  be  expected  to  conduct  a  general  mission 
work  in  addition  to  his  medical  work.  "  Either  he 
will  become  a  good  preacher  and  a  mighty  poor  doctor, 
or  vice  versa.''  This  unfortunately  has  been  my  posi- 
tion. In  addition  to  my  medical  work,  I  have  been 
responsible  for  a  very  large  field.  I  believe,  however, 
that  my  society  is  beginning  to  realize  the  importance 


io8        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  medical  work,  and  will  give  me  more  direct  help  at 
no  distant  date. 

For  nine  years  I  worked  and  prayed  for  a  hospital, 
and  felt  convinced  that  God  wished  me  to  have  it. 
There  came  a  severe  scomge  of  cholera,  and  the  mis- 
sionary spent  most  of  his  time  among  the  sick.  After 
this  was  past  many  of  the  people  said  to  me,  ''You 
must  have  a  hospital."  I  replied  that  I  had  no  money 
for  it,  and  the  society  would  not  give  it.  They  still 
said,  "You  must  have  a  hospital,"  and  the  man  who 
started  the  subscription  list  with  his  own  name  at  the 
head  was  a  Mohammedan.  Soon  I  was  led  to  believe 
that  the  time  had  come,  and,  trusting  in  His  promises, 
I  started,  and  three  years  ago,  was  enabled  to  complete 
an  $8,000  hospital,  with  separate  wards  for  men  and 
women. 

From  its  opening  to  the  present  time,  its  history 
has  been  one  of  continued  success.  On  opening  the 
dispensary  the  need  of  proper  tickets  for  the  patients 
presented  itself,  and  while  considering  it  I  was  led  to 
use  the  Christian  Literature  Society's  gospel  hand- 
bills, recording  the  patients'  numbers  on  the  margin. 
So  successful  has  this  proved  that  we  still  continue 
their  use,  and  very  often  have  we  heard  of  the  good 
these  hand-bills  have  accomplished.  Government  offi- 
cials and  others,  who  go  far  in  the  districts,  have  fre- 
quently reported  to  me  having  seen  these  hand-bills  in 
distant  villages.  Our  preachers,  too,  have  repeatedly 
met  them  far  out  in  the  districts,  and  have  been  called 
upon  to  read  and  explain  them  to  groups  of  people. 

Our  desire  has  always  been  to  use  the  medical  work 


Medical  Missions  109 

as  an  evangelistic  agency,  by  having  regularly  con- 
ducted services  in  the  hospital,  in  the  distribution  of 
suitable  Christian  literature,  personal  work  with  the 
patients,  and  following  them  up  in  their  homes. 

Medical  work  is,  without  doubt,  a  great  means  of 
Winning  the  hearts  of  the  people  ;  and  it  should  be  the 
sole  aim  of  every  medical  missionary  to  make  his  work 
tell  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  advancement  of  His 
kingdom.  It  opens  many  doors,  and  I  have  been 
called  into  all  kinds  of  homes,  and  even  into  the 
zenanas. 

Miss  Anna  Watson,  M.  D. ,  being  called  upon  to  speak 
for  women's  hospitals  said  : — This  to  me  is  a  subject  of 
intense  interest,  since  in  Tanta  (Egypt),  ninety  per 
cent,  of  the  medical  work  is  among  Moslems.  The 
clinic  is  composed  largely  of  the  fellaheen.  They  come 
from  villages  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  are  untouched 
by  any  other  missionary  agency. 

The  calls  to  the  homes  of  the  people  have  included 
the  hareems  of  social  and  religious  dignitaries  in  this 
bigoted  Moslem  centre.  The  hospital  patients  include 
both  classes.  It  is  a  great  step  when  a  hareem  lady 
leaves  her  home  and  enters  a  hospital  for  treatment. 

The  plain  and  simple  gospel  story  is  faithfully 
taught  in  clinic  and  hospital,  and  all  forms  of  con- 
troversy discouraged.  When  we  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  the  patients  in  their  village  homes, 
we  have  always  been  given  the  most  cordial  welcome. 
We  have  never  wanted  for  a  courteous  audience  or  an 
opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel. 


vn 

WOMAN'S  WORK 

[The  papers  and  remarks  given  under  this  head  were  hurriedly 
prepared  by  the  ladies  attending  the  Conference.  This  accounts  for 
their  fragmentary  character.  The  session  given  to  this  subject  was 
however  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  whole  Conference,  deal- 
ing with  a  phase  of  work  covering  one  half  the  Moslem  population 
of  the  world. — Editor.] 

Work  foe  Moslem  Women  in  India 
Miss  R.  L.  Wilson 

In  the  Punjab,  our  work  among  the  Mohammedans 
is  carried  on  chiefly  through  schools,  village  and  med- 
ical work,  and  work  in  the  zenanas.  We  have  Bible 
women  set  aside  for  work  in  Mohammedan  homes.  In 
Pathankoh,  Miss  Campbell  has  a  rented  house  in  the 
city  where  her  Christian  girls  mingle  with  forty-five 
Mohammedan  girls  and  she  has  Christian  teachers. 

We  have  a  Mohammedan  school  in  a  village  some 
fifteen  miles  distant,  in  which  there  are  twenty-five 
women  and  girls,  with  a  Mohammedan  teacher,  but  a 
minister's  wife  who  superintends  this  work  once  a 
week  and  gives  religious  instruction.  They  have  com- 
mitted the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  a 
number  of  stories  from  the  Bible  and  a  number  of 
Psalms.  The  Mohammedans  love  the  Psalms,  espe- 
cially the  fifty-first  and  the  fifteenth. 

In  one  Mohammedan  home  the  ninth  of  John  won- 
derfully opened  a  woman's  eyes.     I  read  it  and  com- 

JIO 


Woman's  Work  iii 

merited  on  the  eleventh  verse,  where  the  blind  man, 
•when  asked  who  healed  him  replied,  ' '  A  man  that  is 
called  Jesus  made  clay  and  anointed  mine  eyes,"  etc. 
In  the  seventeenth  verse,  the  second  time  he  was 
asked,  he  replied,  "  He  is  2^.  prophet,  "  and  then  when 
Jesus  revealed  Himself  to  him  in  the  thirty-fifth  verse 
and  asked  if  he  believed  in  the  Son  of  God,  he  said, 
"Lord,  I  believe,"  and  worshipped  Him.  We  also 
present  Christ  as  the  only  sinless  prophet.  We  had  a 
Mohammedan  surveyor's  family  baptized  last  year. 
He  is  living  alone  in  a  Mohammedan  village  at  his 
old  work  of  making  a  living  and  witnessing  for 
Christ. 


Work  for  Moslem  Women  in  Persia 

MlS8  G.  Y.  HOLLIDAY 

The  religion  of  Islam  is  the  cause  of  special  suffering 
to  woman.  To  alleviate  and  deaden  her  misery,  she 
resorts  to  narcotics  and  stimulants.  With  the  poor 
the  purchase  of  tea  and  tobacco  smoked  in  excess  de- 
prive her  of  the  nourishing  food  she  needs.  The  rich 
often  add  to  these  opium  and  spirits.  Thus  they  des- 
troy the  body  for  which  Christ  died,  and  which  should 
be  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  aggravate  the 
pains  they  seek  to  relieve.  The  Moslem  woman  suffers 
physically  from  her  religion  ;  she  suffers  mentally  from 
a  sense  of  degradation  and  inferiority  ground  into  her 
by  the  veil  and  the  curtain  which  never  allow  her  for 
a  moment  to  forget  herself ;  she  suffers  from  fear  of  her 
husband,  her  family  and  society,  the  fear  of  marriage, 


112        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  divorce,  the  fear  of  unseen  malevolent  powers,  and 
the  fear  of  death  ;  she  suffers  from  ignorance  and  from 
her  own  follies.  The  mind  where  should  dwell  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  is  inhabited  by  dark  and  vague 
terrors  of  every  kind,  and  is  without  hope.  The  Mos- 
lem woman  suffers  mentally  from  her  religion ;  she 
suffers  from  her  own  depravity.  She  has  no  high 
ideal.  A  child  was  told  of  God's  law  and  warned 
against  sin.  She  replied  simply,  "We  want  to  do 
those  things  you  speak  of;  we  like  them."  Another 
was  asked,  "If  you  see  your  little  sister  doing  some- 
thing very  wrong,  what  is  your  duty?"  "I  must 
never,  never  tell."  A  young  woman  calls  her  boy 
' '  child  of  a  dog. "  "  Why  do  you  say  that  ?  Is  he  not 
your  own  son  ?  ' '  Her  musical  voice  replies,  ' '  My 
reference  was  to  his  father  ! "  The  ladies  of  high 
rank  who  came  to  condole  with  Mrs.  Labaree  on  the 
death  of  her  husband,  began  to  curse  his  murderers. 
She  cried  out,  "  O  how  your  words  hurt !  Every  one 
is  a  dagger  to  my  broken  heart.  My  children  and  I 
are  praying  that  God  may  revenge  us  by  changing  the 
hearts  of  those  men  and  saving  them  from  eternal 
death.  We  are  praying  as  our  Master  did  for  His 
enemies,  'Forgive  them,'  for  they  knew  not  what 
they  did.  It  is  my  comfort  to  believe  that  out  of  this 
great  sorrow  shall  come  that  great  blessing."  They 
could  not  understand  her ;  the  light  shone  in  the  dark- 
ness and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not.  Yet 
these  should  know  Christ  and  have  the  same  spirit  and 
become  also  "  partakers  of  the  divine  nature."  It  is 
their  inheritance  purchased  for  them  as  for  us.     The 


Woman's  Work  113 

Moslem  woman  suffers  spiritually  from  her  religion. 
I  can  honestly  say  I  have  never  seen  a  Moslem  woman 
who  is  good  as  a  converted  Christian  woman  is  good, 
or  happy  as  she  is  happy. 

This  constitutes  a  strong  motive  to  work  for  them, 
but  it  wears  out.  We  are  so  stupid,  arrogant,  un- 
grateful, that  we  get  used  to  their  differing  from  us 
and  it  becomes  a  matter  of  course.  Only  one  motive 
is  adequate  and  that  is  the  love  of  Jesus  and  His  com- 
mand to  make  it  known.  Infinite  mercy  !  infinite 
sacrifice  !  infinite  longing !  the  burden  of  the  king  of 
princes  which  He  calls  us  to  bear  with  Him  !  If  we 
would  tell  the  Moslem  woman  of  Him,  we  must  ever 
return  to  this  centre  and  work  from  it.  We  must  first 
be  prepared  by  absolute  surrender  to  Him,  to  do,  to 
be,  to  suffer  what  He  wills.  We  must  give  Him  the 
right  of  way,  and  He  will  give  us  all  the  time,  the 
strength,  the  utterance,  the  opportunities,  the  helpers 
and  the  money,  for  whatever  He  wishes  us  to  do.  This 
is  as  certain  as  the  movement  of  the  laws  of  nature. 
He  cannot  deny  Himself. 

We  must  consult  with  Him.  O  that  saddest  of 
words  in  a  missionary's  mouth,  "  I  have  so  much  to 
do,  there  is  no  time  for  prayer  and  the  Bible."  As 
well  might  the  soldier  say,  "  I  have  no  time  for  drill 
or  battle."  The  apostles  said,  "We  will  give  our- 
selves continually  to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Word."  And  how  our  Saviour  does  answer  prayer  ! 
Each  of  us  here  present  knows  this  ;  how  we  are  dull, 
indifferent,  impatient ;  we  have  nothing  to  say.  Here 
is  the  stupidity,  pride,  ignorance,  prejudice,  depravity 


1 14        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

of  our  Moslem  sisters.  Satan  has  hypnotized  her 
against  our  message.  We  have  no  love,  no  faith,  no 
courage ;  the  heart  sinks  like  lead  before  this  great 
■work.  We  cry  to  our  Lord  and  He  gives  the  sym- 
pathy, the  needed  opening,  the  love  we  lack.  O  how 
sweet  it  is  to  tell  of  our  dear  Master,  and  though  they 
say,  "You  cannot  feel  what  I  suffer,  you  do  not  know 
my  case,"  what  joy  to  say,  "  He  knows  ! "  and  to  find 
there  is  no  path  of  sorrow  where  His  bleeding  foot- 
prints are  not  marked,  going  on  before.  He  is  a  suffi- 
cient Saviour  for  every  one.  Has  He  come  into  the 
lives  of  any  one  of  these  women  and  changed  them  ? 
Yes,  the  great  miracle  is  wrought,  and  hearts  made 
new.  It  is  like  signalling  the  planet  Mars,  but  an- 
swers do  come  back,  and  souls  are  won  for  Christ.  We 
have  one  who  was  a  dancer.  She  has  brought  another, 
her  niece.  She  threw  her  arms  around  the  missionary 
with  such  love,  saying,  ' '  When  my  aunt  first  began  to 
talk  to  me,  I  cared  nothing  about  it,  but  now  I  do  be- 
lieve, I  do  love  Jesus."  Two  women  are  found  in  a 
village,  reading  the  New  Testament.  "Our  neigh- 
bours will  not  come  to  us  now  on  account  of  this  book, 
but  we  gladly  give  them  up.  It  is  more  to  us  than 
they  can  ever  be." 

A  young  wife  married  at  eleven  to  a  tyrant  who 
would  beat  her  and  wlio  forbade  her  visiting  her  home 
for  three  years,  though  it  was  only  next  door  and  her 
father  was  his  uncle,  hated  him  bitterly.  She  would 
say,  "One  of  us  must  die  !  We  cannot  live  in  the 
same  world  at  the  same  time."  But  now  all  is 
changed,    and  she  has  found  peace  and  joy,  and  is 


Woman's  Work  115 

trinning  her  husband  by  gentleness  and  obedience  ;  he 
is  ashamed  now  to  treat  her  badly. 

Yes,  there  are  results,  first-fruits,  and  there  will  be 
more.  As  we  look  at  our  Moslem  sister,  we  see  her 
lost  condition,  but  we  know  it  will  not  always  be  so. 
Things  are  to  change,  and  perhaps  very  soon.  When 
the  lie,  the  hypnotic  spell  is  broken,  ^'  they  shall 
know  Jesus — He  shall  make  them  free."  The  disciples 
were  toiling  in  rowing  ;  it  was  the  fourth  watch  of  the 
night  and  Jesus  was  not  yet  come  to  them.  The  wind 
was  contrary  and  they  were  only  not  beaten  back  to 
the  shore  behind  them  ;  but  they  were  where  He  had 
sent  them,  and  doing  what  He  had  told  them,  and  sud- 
denly He  was  with  them,  and  they  were  at  the  desired 
haven. 


Mrs.  S.  M.  Jordan 
I  should  like  to  call  your  attention  to  the  new  phase 
of  work  for  women  in  our  missions  in  East  and  West 
Persia.  I  mean  the  increased  opportunities  for  en- 
trance into  homes  through  the  increased  attendance  of 
Moslems  in  our  schools.  All  through  our  mission,  in 
Tabriz  and  Urumia,  in  Hamadan  and  Teheran,  and 
the  out- stations  is  felt  the  growing  appreciation  of  the 
advantages  of  an  education.  In  Teheran  alone  our 
Moslem  boys  and  girls  number  150,  and  these  represent 
mothers  and  sisters,  and  often  whole  households  of 
women  where  we  are  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome.  In  the 
sons  or  daughters  there  is  a  bond  of  sympathy  between 
us  and  the  mothers,  and  by  the  exercise  of  tact  and 


1 1 6        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

common  sense  they  may  be  told  of  their  need  of  a 
Saviour  and  of  the  Saviour  ready  for  their  need. 

For  years  there  have  been  one  or  two  Moslem  girls 
in  the  school  but  the  attendance  in  numbers  is  com- 
paratively a  new  thing.  A  forward  step  has  been 
taken  this  year  in  making  the  tuition  for  the  girls 
fully  equal  to  that  for  the  boys.  We  are  trying  to 
teach  Moslem  parents  that  their  girls  are  quite  as 
valuable  as  their  boys.  One  Persian  nobleman,  on 
entering  his  seven  year  old  daughter  last  fall,  explained 
that  he  did  it  for  the  sake  of  her  future  husband  who 
he  hoped  would  have  a  more  peaceful  life  than  he  was 
having. 

Everywhere  we  go  we  find  the  desire  for  education, 
but  very  crude  ideas  as  to  what  it  is.  The  women  fre- 
quently ask  me  if  I  know  geography,  and  when  I 
answer  that  I  do,  they  are  satisfied  that  my  education 
is  of  the  highest  degree.  I  often  ask  them  if  they  can 
read, — which  is  not  an  impolite  question  in  Persia. 
Not  infrequently  they  reply,  "  Oh,  yes,  we  have  read 
the  Koran,  the  Gulistan  and  the  Three  Musketeers.  The 
last-named  has  for  some  time  past  been  suppressed  on 
account  of  the  military  sound  of  its  title.  I  am  glad 
to  say  that  the  Tliree  Musketeers  has  been  followed  by 
the  Pilgrim^  s  Progress  and  they  have  been  much  inter- 
ested in  the  journey  of  Christian  and  his  companions. 

This  opening  for  work  amongst  the  women  has  not  as 
yet  been  fully  entered  owing  to  the  sore  lack  of 
workers.  The  missionary  ladies  have  been  impressed 
into  the  service  as  teachers  since  the  schools  have  so 
greatly  increased.    Those  in  charge  of  the  schools  con- 


Woman's  Work  117 

sider  the  Bible  lessous  of  the  utmost  importance,  and 
spare  no  effort  to  make  them  attractive  to  the  pupils. 
To  this  end  they  are  taught  by  missionaries  as  far  as 
possible. 

Through  the  educational  work  we  believe  that  we 
have  om*  hands  on  the  very  heart  of  Persia,  for  it  is 
only  through  the  children  that  we  can  hope  to  change 
the  condition  of  the  mothers,  and  it  is  only  through  the 
elevation  of  the  home  life  that  Persia  will  be  raised 
from  hei'  degradation. 


Miss  P.  Beaine  Haetwell 

Since  I  joined  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  ten 
years  ago,  I  have  been  working  in  connection  with  the 
medical  mission,  doing  evangelistic  work  in  the 
women's  hospital  and  dispensaries,  now  under  Dr. 
Emmelino  Stuart.  For  some  years  there  has  been  a 
small  women's  hospital  in  Julfa  which,  as  many  of  you 
know,  is  an  Armenian  village  some  distance  out  of 
Ispahan, 

Just  at  this  time  the  work  is  being  removed  to  new 
and  larger  premises  in  the  Mohammedan  town  of  Is- 
pahan, and  this  will  afford  larger  opportunities,  the 
new  hospital  being  near  the  people  instead  of  as  for- 
merly three  miles  away  from  the  bulk  of  the  patients. 

God  has  blessed  our  work,  and  a  little  band  of  con- 
verts has  been  gathered  out. 

We  try  to  impress  upon  the  converts  the  necessity 
of  being  soul  winners.  I  was  glad  to  hear  one  of  the 
speakers  to  day  speak  of  a  willingness  to  propagate 


1 18        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

the  gospel  as  a  test  of  a  convert.  The  work  has  spread 
amongst  the  women  through  their  testimony  to  rela- 
tions and  friends. 

As  an  instance  of  this,  perhaps  you  may  care  to  hear 
of  one  case.  Some  years  ago  I  visited  a  house  where 
a  young  girl  was  very  ill,  and  it  was  evident  that  hers 
was  a  case  for  the  hospital.  One  of  our  doctors  vis- 
ited her  and  invited  her  mother  to  bring  her  into  the 
women's  hospital.  But  this  was  against  her  prejudice. 
She  was  a  bigoted  woman,  but  eventually  the  mother 
brought  the  patient  in  and  after  a  long  stay  in 
hospital  both  mother  and  daughter  accepted  Christ. 
They  have  both  suffered  persecution  from  husband, 
sons  and  mother,  but  their  sweet  and  Christian  con- 
duct so  influenced  an  unfriendly  neighbour  that  she 
has  become  a  Christian.  This  one  in  turn  is  leading 
another  neighbour  to  Christ.  The  daily  prayer  of  the 
patient's  mother  now  is  that  her  own  bigoted  mother 
may  yet  find  Christ  for  her  Saviour. 


Work  Among  Women  in  Turkey 
Mes.  h — 

1.  The  case  of  Fatima  Hanum — the  Moslem  woman, 
converted  to  Christianity — with  her  husband  more 
than  forty-five  years  ago  at  Csesarea  (in  old  Cappa- 
docia),  and  obliged  to  flee  from  home  and  family  to 
save  their  lives. 

For  the  greater  part  of  this  time  she  has  been  a 
faithful,  tactful  Bible-woman  to  Moslem  women  in 
C ,  and,  for  the  last  nine  yeai-s,  engaged  in  the 


Woman's  Work  1 19 

same  work  for  both  Moslems  and  nominal  Christians 
in  Bulgaria,  making  calls  every  day  in  the  year,  when 
the  weather  will  permit.  Friday  afternoons  she  goes, 
often,  to  a  hillside  gathering  place  for  Turkish  women, 
near  the  city  where  she  lives,  to  read  to  them  from  the 
Book,  and  talk  to  them  about  it  by  the  hour.  Often 
her  Moslem  neighbours  send  her  word,  saying,  ' '  We 
are  going  to  the  hillside  to-day.  Come  with  us,  and 
bring  the  Boole!'''' 

2.  In  a  city  in  Asia  Minor,  some  400  miles  from 
Constantinople,  lived  a  devoted  Armenian  woman 
whom  we  used  to  call  "  The  elect  lady,^^  words  which 
seemed  to  characterize  her  remarkably  well.  She  was 
interested  in  all  classes  of  the  people,  and  many  came 
to  her  to  receive  treatment  for  a  certain  disease  of  the 
eyes.  Among  those  who  came  was  Sunduz,  a  young 
Turkish  woman,  and  as  often  as  she  was  treated  for 
her  physical  infirmity,  her  kind  benefactress  read  the 
gospel  story,  and  prayed  with  her,  continuing  these 
efforts  until  Sunduz  became  a  Christian,  and  remained 
faithful,  amid  great  persecution  until  her  death  many 
years  later.  In  the  same  city  a  Turkish  man  was  led 
to  Christ,  through  the  influence  and  teaching  of  his 
Christian  Armenian  neighbours.  Later  his  wife  joined 
him  in  his  Christian  faith,  and  both  received  baptism 
and  remained  faithful  until  death. 

3.  Most  interesting  and  faithful  work  is  done  for 
this  race,  in  our  missionary  hospitals  scattered 
through  Asia  Minor,  by  doctors,  nurses  and  Bible 
women.  Many  instances  might  be  given  did  space 
and  time  allow. 


120        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

4.  In  oue  large  city  in  the  Central  Turkey  Mission, 
■where  the  victims  in  the  great  ^' Event"  often  years 
ago,  were  very  numerous,  and  the  number  of  widows 
and  orphans  very  great,  Moslem  women  have  been 
really  touched  and  influenced  by  the  sx)irit  shown  by 
these  Christian  Bible-women  in  working  for  their 
Tui'kish  neighboui-s.  In  one  instance  some  ten  Moslem 
women  were  asking  the  Bible  woman  to  be  taught 
how  to  read  the  gospel  story  for  themselves,  and  were 
ready  to  buy  Testaments. 

5.  One  of  our  most  devoted  lady- missionaries,  in 
the  far  interior,  who  gives  much  time  to  touring,  visits 
many  of  the  women  of  this  race  in  their  homes,  and 
reads  and  prays  with  them.  She  says,  "They  give 
me  a  warm  welcome,  and  listen  with  interest  to  the 
gospel  story,  and  to  my  counsels,  but  it  is  at  present 
only  a  little  seed-sowing.  We  must  gain  them  by 
love.  I  want  to  add  that  I  am  often  surprised  at  the 
amount  of  truth  which  the  Moslems  know,  which  har- 
monizes with  what  we  believe." 

6.  What  one  unpaid  Christian  worker  is  doing, 
from  love  of  the  Saviour,  for  her  Turkish  neighbours, 
is  well  indicated  in  the  incident  which  follows. 

This  Christian  Armenian  woman  living  with  her 
son,  in  a  town,  in  ancient  Cappadocia,  is — says  one  who 
knows  her —  "^  sai7it,  if  there  is  one  in  the  land." 
The  town  is  a  large  one  with  very  few  Christian  fami- 
lies. Her  ministries  to  the  sick  and  needy  of  the  rul- 
ing race  are  countless.  Among  them  was  a  woman  of 
such  bad  character  that  even  her  relatives  had  cast  her 
off.     In  a  miserable  room,   near  Turfauda  Doodoo's 


Woman's  Work  12 1 

house,  she  was  lying,  neglected — dying.  Doodoo  made 
her  as  comfortable  as  she  could  ;  prepared  and  gave 
her  soup,  etc. ,  and  then  sat  down  to  comfort  her.  She 
told  the  story  of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  etc., 
until  this  modern  Magdalene's  heart  was  touched,  and 
she  cried  out — "  Oh,  Jesus,  Saviour,  I  am  a  sinner, 
receive  me  ! "  And  with  this  cry  on  her  lips  she  died. 
The  ''Priest"'  refused  her  burial,  because  of  her 
character.  Turfanda  Doodoo  prepared  the  body  for 
the  grave  with  her  own  hands ;  conducted  the  funeral 
services  in  her  own  fashion,  not  omitting  a  strong  yet 
gentle  rebuke  to  them  for  their  inhumanity,  and  then 
the  relatives  of  the  woman  carried  the  body  of  the 
woman  away  for  burial  ''  outside.''^ 

Turfanda  Doodoo  has  a  ^^fabrica,^^  as  she  calls  it, 
for  helping  the  poor,  and  she  has  ''run  it"  for  over 
twenty  years.  Buying  a  batman  (i.e.  about  seventeen 
pounds)  of  wool  with  her  own  money,  she  has  made 
yarn,  knitted  stockings,  mittens,  etc.,  and  then  sold 
enough  to  replace  the  wool,  giving  the  balance  to  the 
needy.  Her  Turkish  neighbours  are  the  most  common 
recipients  of  her  charity,  and  she  has  won  a  large  place 
in  their  hearts. 

Her  son  is  also  untiring  in  his  efforts  for  the  sick, 
and  his  influence  among  all  classes, — officials  and  vil- 
lagers, is  very  great. 

>  The  Turkish  Imam. 


122        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

WoEK  Ajviong  Moslem  Women  in  Caieo 
Miss  A.  Y.  Thompson 

On  returuiug  from  a  prayer-meetiug  on  Tuesday  of 
this  week  in  Boulak,  iu  company  with  a  Bible  woman, 
going  along  one  of  the  narrow  streets,  we  heard  the 
beating  of  drums,  the  kind  used  when  evil  spirits  are 
being  cast  out.  We  entered  the  house  to  find  about 
ten  Moslem  women  who  were  going  through  terrible 
contortions,  clad  in  white  garments,  swaying  and 
bending,  as  the  three  professionals  were  vigorously 
beating  their  drums  above  their  heads. 

The  woman  of  the  house  came  to  the  door,  the  Bible 
woman  asked  a  few  questions  and  we  passed  out,  full 
of  pity  and  sympathy  for  these  poor  women  who 
thought  they  were  the  spiritual  wives  of  Moham- 
med. One  woman  some  time  ago,  who  was  taking 
lessons,  described  fully  what  was  done  on  such  an  oc- 
casion, as  her  daughter  was  under  the  power  of  an 
evil  spirit.  The  awe  which  such  influences  excite  is 
pathetic.  There  are  many  who,  though  not  nominally 
under  the  influence  of  evil  spirits,  are  like  evil  spirits 
in  their  actions.  Some  women  once  told  me  that  as 
they  did  not  know  how  long  their  husbands  would 
keep  them,  they  tried  to  get  out  of  their  pockets  all 
the  money  they  could  in  the  way  of  clothes  and  furni- 
ture, which  would  remain  theirs  iu  case  of  a  divorce. 
On  Tuesday  of  last  week  at  a  women's  prayer-meeting, 
there  were  sixteen  women  in  a  Mohammedan  house, 
whose  bright  little  mistress  can  read  pretty  well.  She 
afterwards  asked  the  Bible  woman  to  bring  her  the 
Psalm  selections  from  which  we  sang.     The  Psalm 


Woman's  Work  123 

which  takes  hold  of  the  Moslem  mind  more  than 
others,  is  the  fifty-first.  This  was  used  to  good  effect 
with  two  Moslems  on  the  train  last  week,  by  another 
Bible  woman,  as  some  of  us  were  returning  from  Tanta, 
where  we  had  been  having  our  Presbyterial  Mission- 
ary Society. 

She  saw  the  men  in  the  seat  opposite  her  reading 
some  book  she  did  not  think  was  profitable,  and  said, 
"Would  it  not  be  better  to  read  about  God"?"  and 
handed  them  her  copy  of  the  prose  Psalms,  which  she 
had  with  her.  When  they  came  to  the  word  mercy, 
they  stopped  to  talk  and  ask  questions  ;  and  she  with 
all  earnestness  and  apparent  self-forgetfulness,  talked 
and  answered  with  explanations  and  comment.  Thus 
the  time  passed  till  we  reached  Benha,  where  she  gave 
one  a  copy  of  the  Proverbs  to  take  with  him,  as  he  left 
the  train,  and  she  continued  to  talk  with  the  other  man 
till  we  reached  Cairo,  where  she  presented  him  with 
the  book. 

Another  Bible  woman  goes  from  door  to  door  among 
the  huts,  in  a  district  which  was  opened  up  in  1891. 
The  women  gather  from  different  neighbouring  houses, 
and  she  sits  and  reads  the  Bible  to  them  and  to  any 
man  who  may  stop  to  listen.  She  says  they  have 
given  up  much  quarrelling,  praying  to  saints,  tombs, 
etc. ,  as  a  result  of  the  reading. 

One  old  blind  Moslem  said  to  her,  ''  Come  and 
moisten  our  souls  with  the  words  of  our  Master  Jesus." 
In  our  last  statistics  for  my  own  work,  there  are  en- 
rolled as  taking  reading  lessons  thirty-nine  Moslem 


124       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

women,  and  seventy-four  regular  hearers ;  and  one  of 
the  nine  Bible  loomen  is  a  converted  Moslem. 

It  is  difficult  to  know  how  much  of  religious  exer- 
cises should  be  engaged  in,  as  if  prayer  is  offered  some 
may  be  repelled  ;  and  yet  others  wish  to  learn  to  pray. 

The  schools  afford  the  best  method  of  reaching  some 
Moslems,  especially  those  who  board  in  schools,  and 
who  come  under  the  constant  religious  influence  of 
their  Christian  teachers. 

In  our  schools  in  Egypt  we  have  a  large  number  of 
Moslem  girls,  fifteen  being  now  boarders  in  our  mis- 
sion house  in  Cairo.  Ex-pupils  are  often  found,  in 
visiting  towns  and  houses. 

The  great  need  is  to  find  teachers  and  Bible  women 
who  are  "  on  fire  with  love  to  God." 

It  seems  to  me  that  medical  work  and  the  hospital 
are  the  best  means  of  reaching  a  class  of  people  who 
do  not  come  to  the  schools,  and  whole  districts  can 
thus  be  reached.  In  our  hospital  in  Assiout  666  Mos- 
lems were  patients  in  one  [year.  In  the  clinics  there 
are  regular  Scripture  reading  and  religious  exercises, 
as  well  as  in  the  hospitals,  carried  on  by  missionaries 
and  assistants. 

In  Tauta,  where  we  have  three  lady  physicians  in  a 
hospital  for  women  and  children,  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  patients  were  Moslems,  and  thus  homes  and  vil- 
lages were  opened  to  the  gospel  and  to  those  who  ex- 
plain the  word. 

In  the  Benha  clinic  fifty  towns  were  represented 
whose  sick  had  come  to  our  lady  physician  there  for 
treatment. 


Woman's  Work  12c 

Kindly  visits  can  be  made  to  many  of  the  better 
classes  by  those  who  understand  eastern  ways,  and 
many  towns  and  people  can  be  reached  by  means  of 
the  mission  boat  His,  by  the  missionaries  appointed 
to  that  work. 

Great  preparation  of  heart  is  necessary  for  the  work, 
and  I  often  think  of  Christ's  words :  ''This  kind  goeth 
not  out  but  by  prayer  and  fasting." 


Miss  Ford  told  of  work  in  North  Galilee,  where  there 
were  300  villages,  280  of  these  being  Moslem.  They 
are  invited  to  the  villages,  and  choose  one  central  one 
for  a  week's  visit,  from  which  they  can  visit  seven  or 
eight  others.  The  work  is  entirely  evangelistic,  and 
everywhere  they  meet  with  attention.  At  first  they 
had  no  helpers— now  they  have  thirteen. 

In  each  village  from  100  to  300  would  listen  daily 
(mostly  men).  At  one  time  they  made  special  prayer 
that  they  might  be  sent  to  those  who  were  soon  to  die. 
Their  prayer  was  answered,  and  on  several  occasions 
they  were  able  to  point  the  dying  one  to  the  Saviour. 
Miss  de  Selincourt  said  she  had  worked  in  Bombay 
and  Calcutta  with  freedom.  Now  she  works  in  North 
India  with  the  same  freedom.  The  women  are  often 
very  stupid  and  very  ignorant.  The  most  acute  prob- 
lem is  in  connection  with  the  training  of  women 
workers ;  very  few  are  trained  at  alL  A  mistaken 
charity  often  gives  a  woman  a  post  as  teacher,  for 
which  she  is  not  prepared.  The  need  of  workers  is 
Jipw  also  an   acute  problem.     The  government  now 


126        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

trains  workers  amongst  Moslem  women,  and  has  ap- 
pealed for  a  university  lady  to  go  and  organize  their 
work.  If  we  do  not  take  the  matter  in  hand  govern- 
ment will  oust  us. 

The  missionaries  also  feel  the  need  of  more  training. 
Most  of  us  are  too  old  to  learn  much  now.  Knowl- 
edge of  the  Koran  is  a  great  help  even  in  the  zenanas ; 
we  are  often  called  upon  to  discuss  with  men  of  the 
family  who  naturally  must  know  what  we  teach  and 
why. 

We  need,  also,  closer  cooperation  between  men  and 
women  workers.  In  Agra  there  are  500  women  and 
girls  under  instruction,  but  no  one  to  work  amongst 
the  men.  Many  are  ready  to  come  out,  but  the  ques- 
tion arises,  is  it  right  for  them  to  leave  their  homes  ? 

Miss  Betvley  spoke  of  the  work  in  Khartoum,  where 
a  new  school  for  girls  has  recently  been  built.  The 
children  number  eighty  to  ninety,  of  whom  six  are 
small  boys  and  the  rest  girls.  Nearly  all  are  Moslems. 
In  Khartoum  we  are  obliged  to  have  a  conscience 
clause  whereby  children  may  be  exempted  from  the 
New  Testament  teaching  if  the  parents  or  guardians 
so  desire.  A  few  were  exempted  last  year,  but  this 
year  not  one  has  claimed  this  right. 

There  are  four  sisters  in  the  school,  the  daughters  of 
an  ofBcer  in  the  district.  The  mother  has  Moslem 
prayers  with  her  family  daily,  and  when  these  are 
finished  the  daughters  kneel  and  say  the  Lord's  prayer 
together.  They  know  much  of  the  Bible  and  at  heart 
are  really  Christian. 

They  cannot  go  and  read  the  Bible  to  the  people  in 


Woman's  Work.  127 

their  homes  unless  asked  to  do  so,  but  they  are  some- 
times asked  to  do  so  and  this  has  occurred  in  the  house 
of  Zobair  Pasha,  the  former  slave  dealer.  Here  the 
favomite  story  is  that  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

Mr.  A.  D.  Cooper  asked  for  an  expression  of  opinion 
on  the  real  value  of  the  work  of  Christian  Bible 
women  among  their  Moslem  sisters. 

Br.  Jessup  said,  "  It  depends  on  the  woman.  They 
should  be  instructed  to  read  the  Bible  only  and  to 
answer  questions  on  it.  Otherwise  they  may  spend 
their  time  in  ordinary  talk." 

Miss  Wilson  (India)  said  that  a  normal  class  in  con- 
nection with  the  girls'  school  at  Dehra  Doon,  India, 
trained  Bible  women  to  be  sent  out  to  teach  the  women. 


vm 

CONVERTS  AND  BACKSLIDERS 

Eev.  John  Van  Ess 

If  ever  I  felt  poignantly  the  need  of  divine  wisdom. 
and  guidance,  it  was  three  months  ago  in  an  inland 
town  of  Mesopotamia,  when  an  Arab  called  on  me  at 
the  khan  and,  after  a  few  preliminary  remarks,  laid 
bare  to  me  what  I  consider  to  be  the  vitals  of  the 
whole  Mohammedan  missionary  problem.  It  was  un- 
intentional on  his  part,  and  yet  he  set  me  thinking, 
and  all  that  night  I  thought,  and  all  the  days  that  have 
followed  I  have  been  in  a  new  world.  I  have  found 
my  academic  deductions  of  psychology  and  philosophy 
failing  me,  and  feel  as  if  I  must  start  anew  to  study 
theology,  must  get  a  new  world- view,  perhaps  a 
different  God-view  if  I  would  be  a  successful  mission- 
ary to  the  Moslems  and  make  a  telling  breach  in  the 
bulwarks  of  Islam.  I  will  not  detail  to  you  all  that 
passed  in  that  conversation  with  the  Arab,  only  that 
he  said  he  was  tired  of  Islam,  not  because  of  its 
falsity  as  a  logical  system  ;  all  such  systems  were 
arbitrary  he  said,  not  because  of  its  failure  to 
guarantee  a  man  peace  of  mind  and  soul  which  he 
said  he  had.  He  said  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
right,  and  proved  it  by  showing  that  we  need  the 
word  xorong  to  define  right.      He  said  you   cannot 

128 


Converts  and  Backsliders  129 

conceive  of  absolute  right ;  you  must  posit  wrong  to 
give  shape  to  your  idea  of  right,  and  therefore  sin  is 
a  landmark,  so  to  speak,  and  therefore  righteousness 
is  a  norm.  But  who  says  that  that  norm  avails  in  the 
world  beyond.  If  God  is  absolute,  and  heaven  is  His 
home,  then  we  have  no  place  in  heaven,  for  all  our 
theology.  Christian,  Moslem,  and  Jewish  needs  sin  to 
think  aright,  and  therefore  cannot  prepare  us  for  a 
life  with  God.  Our  education  in  this  world  is 
arbitrary  and  temporal.  He  admitted  there  was  a 
life  beyond,  but  that  life  is  unknown.  Perhaps  you 
would  spring  up  at  once  and  reply  to  his  notions  of 
system,  of  right  and  wrong,  sin  and  righteousness, 
God  and  man  and  life.  I  know  what  arguments  you 
would  use.  I  used  them  myself,  and  they  did  no 
good.  That  Arab  asked  one  thing.  He  said,  ' '  Prove 
that  Jesus  Christ  can  guide  beyond  the  grave,  and  if 
you  can  prove  that,  I  will  follow  Him  here."  It  was 
the  first  good  glimpse  I  had  ever  had  into  the  mind  of 
an  oriental.  I  can  see  now  why  the  Mohammedan 
can  hold  his  false  system  without  wincing,  how  he  can 
believe  two  contradictories,  why  he  is  a  fatalist,  and 
why  he  is  reckless  of  this  life,  and  why  all  is  based 
on  God  who  is  merciful  and  compassionate. 

The  Semitic  is  above  all  else  a  religious  being,  be  he 
Jew,  Christian  or  Moslem,  whose  whole  life,  his  think- 
ing and  his  acting,  is  on  a  religious  basis.  You  and 
I  can  talk  business  for  six  hours  and  not  mention 
God's  name  once ;  no  two  Semitics  of  any  creed  can 
do  so  without  invoking  God's  law  to  prove  or  dis- 
prove several  times.     Now  the  problem  is  this  : — By 


130        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

what  criterion  are  we  to  judge  an  oriental  convert  to 
Christianity  ?  Shall  we  impose  upon  him  the  same 
criteria  as  those  by  which  we  recognize  an  occidental 
convert?  We  have  several  such  conditions.  One  is 
the  broken  heart.  That  is  not  always  a  test  for  us,  as 
you  know,  much  less  for  a  Semitic.  If  that  fails  we 
ask  simply,  "Does  a  man  give  evidence  of  the  fruits 
of  the  spirit ?"  Love?  and  yet  an  oriental  Catholic 
Christian  loves  Christ  and  is  exceedingly  jealous  of  His 
honour  and  prestige,  yet  is  sadly  enough  often  not  a 
converted  man.  Joy?  It  is  joy  run  mad  in  an 
oriental  Christian.  Peace?  His  peace  is  fatalistic. 
Long-suffering?  The  Armenians  suffered  much  for 
Christ,  and  yet  many  of  them  are  not  truly  born 
again.  Kindness  ?  Kindness  is  a  trait  of  all  orientals 
as  witnessed  in  their  hospitality.  Goodness?  Their 
idea  of  goodness  is  an  obedience  to  the  letter  of  the 
law.  They  are  right  from  their  point  of  view.  The 
Semitic  cannot  think  for  himself,  has  no  power  of 
initiative ;  his  is  a  soldier's  obedience,  and  therefore 
a  soldier's  goodness,  and  we  cannot  require  them  to 
have  initiative  and  to  be  positively  good  as  we  are. 
Faith  ?  Their  faith  is  superstition,  and  yet  it  has  all 
the  elements  of  faith.  Gentleness?  If  we  eliminate 
local  conditions  and  make  due  allowance  for  them 
they  are  gentle  enough.  Temperance  ?  Take  for  ex- 
ample that  type  of  temperance  which  we  call  toler- 
ance. Many  oriental  Christians  are  not  tolerant,  and 
yet  are  true  childi-en  of  God.  Or  temperance  in  the 
use  of  earthly  goods.  I  think  thej^,  as  a  whole,  will 
bear  comparison  with  us.     Or  would  you  require  of 


Converts  and  Backsliders  131 

them  a  statement  of  doctrine,  or  a  consistent  world-  or 
God-view  I  I  know  native  Christian  priests  and 
bishops  who  can  give  you  all  that,  and  yet  they  are 
not  satisfactory  as  Christians.  I  will  not  enumerate 
any  more  of  what  we  consider  possible  criteria  of 
conversion.  I  simply  stated  the  foregoing  as  sugges- 
tions. I  want  your  conclusion.  Personally  my  own 
conclusion  is  half  formed.  I  think  we  may  well  take 
Jesus  Christ's  methods  as  our  model.  He  was  Himself 
a  Semitic,  and  understood  the  workings  of  the  Semitic 
mind,  and  I  regard  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  as  a  pecul- 
iarly fitted  guide  written,  as  it  was  by  a  Jew  for  Jews 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  author  of 
wisdom.  The  Gospel  of  Matthew  is  unique  in  its  full 
statement  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  That  sermon 
is  full  of  illustrations.  Dlustrations  to  us  are  no 
argument.  We  demand  analogy.  And  yet  Jesus 
Christ  in  dealing  with  the  Jews  used  illustrations  and 
parables  almost  entirely.  His  arguments  are  only 
rarely  a  fortiori,  as  for  example  the  egg,  and  the  fish, 
and  the  scorpion,  and  the  serpent,  and  almost  always 
d  posteriori  and  deductive,  therefore  His  miracles. 
Now  an  oriental's  whole  view  of  life  and  of  men's 
relation  to  each  other  is  patriarchal.  The  sheikh  idea 
pervades  all  their  thinking.  So  the  Holy  Spirit  made 
allowance  for  that,  and  we  find  in  Matthew  the  royal 
genealogy.  And  Christ  to  prove  that  He  was  rightly 
sheikh,  so  to  speak,  quotes  Moses  and  then  contrasts 
Himself  and  says,  "But  I  say."  He  puts  forth  His 
claim  over  against  a  rival  and  therefore  speaks  of  two 
gates,  two  ways,  two  trees,  two  foundations.     He  is 


132        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

greater  than  Solomon,  than  Jonah,  "before  Abraham 
was  I  am."  He  is  the  true  temple.  His  covenant  the 
lasting  one.  Christ  presents  Himself  to  the  Semitic 
as  the  true  leader,  the  true  Saviour,  the  true  king,  the 
true  sheikh,  if  I  may  say  so  reverently.  You  see  He 
led  the  Jews  along  the  line  of  least  resistance.  He 
wanted  allegiance.  The  Arab  for  example  shows  his 
allegiance  by  being  always  ready  to  follow  the  flag  of 
his  sheikh  that  glory  may  accrue  for  his  leader  and 
the  tribe.  In  other  words  propaganda  is  his  watch- 
word and  the  test  of  his  loyalty.  And  so  I  venture 
as  my  conclusion  this  criterion  of  conversion,  '^  Is  the 
Moslem  ready  to  propagate  the  new  faith  ? ' '  You  see 
it  is  taking  the  idea  which  has  made  Islam  a  mission- 
ary religion  and  which  has  been  found  to  be  agreeable 
to  the  Moslem  liking  and  appropriating  it  for  Christ's 
advantage.  True  enough  Islam  is  not  now  so  mission- 
ary as  it  was,  yet  Moslems  are  not  as  true  Moslems  as 
they  were.  If  a  Mohammed  ibu  Abd  el  Wahhab 
could  appeal  to  this  sentiment  and  use  it  to  so  great 
an  advantage,  I  think  the  Christian  missionary  may 
profit  by  the  example.  When  Paul  was  converted, 
people  were  not  so  surprised  at  his  outward  manifesta- 
tions, emotional  or  religious,  but  the  disciples  could 
not  believe  that  he  had  become  a  propagandist.  ' '  He 
preacheth  the  faith  which  before  he  destroyed." 

So  Nicodemus  in  coming  to  Christ  was  attracted  to 
Him  as  a  miracle  worker,  and  as  such  a  self-vindicated, 
powerful  and  authoritative  sheikh.  He  wanted  to 
compromise  and  recognize  Christ  as  a  teacher,  but 
Christ  at  once  leads  him  back  of  it  all,  and  sets  forth 


Converts  and  Backsliders  133 

His  Kingdom  idea  into  which  Nicodemus  must  be 
born  anew.  He  must  transfer  his  allegiance  to  a  dif- 
ferent leader  and  his  works  must  be  made  manifest. 

The  vital  criterion  therefore  is,  I  think,  whether  a 
Moslem  is  willing  to  engage  in  active  Christian 
propaganda. 

His  needs  as  a  convert  then  are  primarily  two. 

1.  To  be  placed  as  soon  as  possible  in  a  place  in  which 
he  must  propagandize,  without  remuneration,  and  the 
missionary  must  carefully  and  oh,  so  prayerfully, 
watch  the  extent  of  his  progress,  and  must  push  him 
to  the  limit  always. 

2.  And  the  second  need,  and  here  I  come  to  what 
probably  is  the  heart  of  the  whole  problem,  and  that 
is  : — a  living  example  on  the  part  of  the  missionary  of 
unselfish,  untiring,  loyal  activity.  This  will  entail 
hardship  ;  we  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice  our  dignity 
and  even  be  willing  to  do  what  the  world  calls  foolish- 
ness. I  admire  both  the  sense  and  devotion  of  a  mis- 
sionary at  Diabekr  who  would  boldly  enter  the  govern- 
ment serai  and  announce  to  the  Turkish  governor  and 
his  staff  that  he  had  come  to  pray  with  and  for  them. 
I  fear  that  in  my  own  life  and  work  the  devil  would 
persuade  me  that  under  like  circumstances  caution  and 
tact  would  be  better  policy.  Perhaps  the  Church  of 
God  has  too  long  tried  to  win  the  day  by  policy  and 
statecraft— and  perhaps  a  little  more  hammer  and 
tongs,  reckless,  defiant,  uncalculating  faith  would  be 
consummate  statecraft.  I  fear  that  in  my  own  life  this 
will  strike  to  the  quick.  A  man's  own  person  is  his 
most  precious  and  best  kept  treasure  and  in  order  to 


134        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

face  the  contumely  which  surely  will  result  we  will 
need  to  keep  close  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  Only  by  spend- 
ing much  time  in  the  dust  before  Him  can  we  ever 
consent  to  grovel  in  the  dust  for  our  fellow  meu'ssakes. 
Paul  said  he  travailed  in  birth,  he  became  hideous, 
he  had  a  thorn  in  the  flesh.  He  uses  many  of  such 
figures  to  express  the  suppression  of  his  person.  "I 
buffet  my  body  and  bring  it  into  bondage  lest  by  any 
means  after  that  I  have  preached  to  others  I  myself 
should  be  rejected" — a  castaway,  an  old  edition, 
true  enough  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  unused,  shelved,  be- 
cause it  does  not  conform  to  the  times  and  demands. 

On  the  basis  of  what  I  have  said  I  think  the  inquirer 
can  be  judged  along  the  same  line  as  the  convert. 
Only  this  I  add.  I  would  prefer  calling  every  man 
an  inquirer  who,  whether  in  mockery  or  in  earnest, 
asks  for  a  defense  or  statement  of  our  faith. 

If  in  earnest,  of  course  he  can  be  readily  dealt  with 
and  I  think  effectually  reached  by  following  the 
method  presented  in  Matthew.  K  in  mockery  or  out 
of  curiosity,  he  surely  will  bear  at  any  rate  such  a  plain 
statement  of  Christian  faith  and  doctrine  as  might  prove 
offensive  to  another.  The  point  therefore  is  to  get  in- 
quirers, and  I  think  the  best  way  to  get  them  is  by 
a  fearless  and  yet  inoffensive  parade  of  Christ's  per- 
son and  work,  by  the  missionary  in  a  bold  even  in- 
tensely conspicuous  life  of  propaganda. 

I  feel  myself  too  inexperienced  to  venture  any  sug- 
gestion for  the  treatment  of  a  backslider.  Only 
this  : — Never  let  him  go  !  That  same  pity  and  yearn- 
ing compassion  that  followed  Judas  to  the  end  and 


Converts  and  Backsliders  135 

called  him  friend  and  loved  him  always  will  not,  I  be- 
lieve, let  any  fallen  brother  lie  alone.  God's  eternal 
covenant  of  grace,  our  blood-stained  fields  of  labour, 
our  prayers  will  and  must  prevail.  Oh,  for  greater 
and  more  Christlike  love  to  sympathize  with  the  Mo- 
hammedans, and  oh,  for  grace  to  keep  from  falling 
back  too. 

Finally — Our  aim  is  to  make  converts ;  to  that  end 
we  stretch  all  our  energies  and  spend  our  money.  But 
IS  that  really  our  aim  ?  Suppose  now  that  we  have  the 
convert,  does  our  endeavour  stop  there — suppose  the 
whole  world  were  converted — is  that  our  goal  ? 

Our  duty,  rather  our  real  work,  only  begins  there. 
As  the  mechanic  who  by  patient  toil  has  repaired  and 
made  anew  the  broken  parts  of  his  machine  but  whose 
eye  and  heart  are  all  the  time  set  on  the  moment  when 
he  can  draw  back  the  lever  and  let  the  mighty  steam 
into  the  waiting  parts,  so  patiently,  prayerfully  and 
persistently  we  try  to  set  God's  world  right,  turn  it 
right  side  up,  only  then,  however  feeling  our  task  really 
beginning  when  with  Christ  high  in  the  steam-guage, 
and  willing  hands  and  hearts  and  heads,  the  Christian 
Catholic  Church  shall  begin  to  render  to  God  Triune  the 
praise  so  long  His  due.  Our  aim  then  is  not  converts, 
not  churches,  not  schools,  but  harmony,  harmony  with 
God  and  communion  with  Him. 

This  paper  was  followed  by  an  address  by  Eev. 
Gordon  Logan  upon  the  question  of  how  to  provide 
for  persecuted  converts,  which  address  was  unfortu- 
nately not  written  out  for  the  use  of  the  committee  on 
publication  of  the  conference  report.     As  a  result  of 


136        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

that  address  a  committee  was  appointed  to  formulate 
resolutions  upon  this  subject.  These  resolutions  were 
adopted  at  a  subsequent  sitting  of  the  conference. 
They  ar3  as  follows  : 


Report  on  How  to  Provide  Support  for  Inquirers  and 
Persecuted  Converts 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  best 
methods  for  dealing  with  indigent  and  persecuted  con- 
verts, considers  the  following  course  advisable  : 

1.  Whenever  a  missionary  believes  an  inquirer  or 
refugee  to  be  sincerely  trusting  in  Christ  as  his  Saviour 
and  desires  to  aid  him,  he  should  endeavour  at  once  to 
place  him  in  some  employment  which,  however, 
should  never  be  more  remunerative  or  of  higher  social 
status  than  his  previous  position. 

2.  Young  converts  and  children  of  converts  should 
be  placed  in  schools,  literary  or  industrial  according 
to  their  capacity. 

3.  By  cooperation  of  the  various  agencies  at  work 
among  Mohammedans,  such  institutions  for  children  as 
that  of  the  Dutch  mission  at  Calioub  and  the  many 
similar  institutions  in  India,  might  have  their  positions 
strengthened  and  made  a  valuable  aid  to  the  societies 
generally. 

4.  Industrial  undertakings  for  adults  and  ranches, 
such,  for  example,  as  the  one  started  on  the  Sobat 
River,  might,  with  mutual  advantage,  be  used  for 
placing  persecuted  converts  of  the  illiterate  classes. 

5.  To  facilitate  the  spread  of  such  information,  aa 


Converts  and  Backsliders  137 

has  been  indicated  above,  to  foster  cooperation,  and 
to  give  advice  and  assistance  to  the  missionary  as  each 
case  comes  forward,  your  committee  think  that  a  cen- 
tral bureau  should  be  established. 


rx 

CONDITIONS  OF  BAPTISM 
Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D. 

1.  * '  Baptism  is  a  sacrament  wherein  the  washing 
with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  doth  signify  and  seal  our  en- 
grafting into  Christ  and  partaking  of  the  benefits  of  the 
covenant  of  grace  and  our  engagement  to  be  the 
Lord's"  (Westminster  Assembly's  ShoHer  Catechism, 
Q.  94). 

2.  In  Eomans  6:3,  it  is  said,  we  "were  baptized 
.     .     .    unto  Christ  Jesus." 

3.  "He  who  receives  baptism  professes  to  stand  in 
that  relation  to  the  Father,  Son  and  Spirit  which  those 
who  receive  the  religion  of  Christ  sustain."  That  is, 
he  proposes  to  receive  God  the  Father  as  his  Father  ; 
God  the  Son  as  his  Saviour  ;  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
as  his  teacher  and  sanctifier  ;  and  this  iuv'olves  the  en- 
gagement to  receive  the  Word  of  which  the  Spirit  is  the 
author,  as  the  rule  of  his  faith  and  practice  "  {Hodge, 
Vol.  3,  539). 

4.  "  Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered  to  any  that 
are  out  of  the  visible  church,  till  they  profess  their 
faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  Him"  {Shorter  Cate- 
chism, Q.  95). 

5.  "Baptism  is  not  only  a  sign  of  profession,  a 
mark  of  difference,  whoreby  Christian  men  are  dis- 


Conditions  of  Baptism  139 

cerned  from  others  that  be  not  christened,  but  it  is  also 
a  sign  of  regeneration  or  new  birth,  whereby  as  by  an 
instrument  they  that  receive  baptism  rightly,  are 
grafted  into  the  Church,"  etc.  {Church  of  England^ 
Article  27). 

6.  Dr.  Strong  declares  that  "  the  proper  subjects  of 
baptism  are  those  only  who  give  credible  evidence  that 
they  have  been  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Spirit" 
{Theology,  p.  530). 

7.  Baptism  involves  :  First,  a  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ ;  second,  a  promise  of  allegiance  to  Him. 

Christ's  command  is  to  "  make  disciples"  of  all  na- 
tions, baptizing  them,  etc. 

A  disciple  is  both  a  recipient  and  a  follower.  He 
receives  Christ  as  his  Teacher  and  Lord,  and  professes 
obedience  and  devotion  to  His  service. 

Philip  said  to  the  eunuch,  "If  thou  believest  with 
all  thine  heart,  thou  may  est"  (i  e.,  be  baptized),  and 
this  discloses  the  principle  on  which  the  apostles  uni- 
formly acted  in  this  matter. 

This  has  in  all  ages  been  the  practice  of  the  Church. 
No  man  was  admitted  to  baptism  without  an  intelli- 
gent ;profession  of  faith  in  Christ  and  a  solemn  engage- 
ment of  obedience  to  Him.  The  practice  of  Eomanist 
missionaries  in  baptizing  the  heathen  in  crowds  does 
not  invalidate  this  statement.  Faith  supposes  knowl- 
edge of,  at  least,  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
gospel. 

In  the  early  church  there  were  classes  of  catechumens 
who  were  under  instruction.  This  course  was  from  a 
few  months  to  three  years,  and  embraced  not  only 


140       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

young  men,  but  often  persons  in  mature  life  and  of  all 
degrees  of  mental  culture.  At  the  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  supper  the  minister  said,  ''Depart  ye,  cate- 
chumens !" 

Baptism  implies  (1)  a  credible  profession  of  faitli, 
(2)  a  holy  life — conversation  void  of  offense. 

In  general  the  qualifications  are  the  same  as  for 
church  membership,  i.  e.,  for  the  Lord's  supper. 

In  the  early  church  there  seems  to  have  been  no  dif- 
ference as  to  preparation  for  baptism  between  converts 
from  Judaism  and  paganism.  All  were  put  on  proba- 
tion and  under  instruction. 

But  the  apostles,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost, the  eunuch,  Cornelius  and  his  household,  Saul  in 
Damascus  and  Philip's  converts  in  Samaria,  did  bap- 
tize at  once  on  credible  evidence  of  faith  without  wait- 
ing for  extended  instruction. 

Our  questions  pertain  to  Mohammedan  converts  to 
Christianity.  If  the  convert  is  simply  intellectually 
convinced  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  His  atoning  work 
as  our  Eedeemer  and  the  divine  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, etc. ,  he  is  then  on  the  same  footing  as  a  nominal 
Christian  who  has  not  been  baptized  in  infancy.  "We 
need  something  more  than  a  mere  intellectual  accept- 
ance of  certain  historic  facts.  We  must  insist  upon  a 
living  personal  faith  or  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
only  Saviour. 

And  the  best  preparation  for  this,  is  careful  instruc- 
tion in  the  word  of  God  and  prayer. 

The  Mohammedan  idea  of  prayer  is  sadly  mechan- 
ical, diy  and  heartless,  vain  repetitious,  a  lip  service. 


Conditions  of  Baptism  141 

A  Moslem  present  at  our  family  prayers  said  at  the 
close,  "  Why,  you  pray  as  if  God  heard  you  !  Does 
He  indeed  hear  prayer  ?  I  never  thought  of  it  in  that 
light  before." 

When  Kamil  el  Aietany  first  came  to  my  study  in 
1890,  he  asked  what  we  believed  and  how  we  prayed. 
I  read  to  him  from  the  New  Testament  and  a  few  an- 
swers from  the  Westminster  Catechism,  and  explained 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ,  the  Incarnate,  Eternal 
''Kalimet,"  the  Word  of  God,  and  then  offered  an 
earnest  prayer  of  petition,  thanksgiving  and  confes- 
sion, he  repeating  the  words  after  me.  He  was  deeply 
affected,  and  rose  from  his  knees  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
He  was  overcome  with  the  thought  of  the  wonderful 
love  of  God  in  Christ,  and  opened  his  heart  to  receive 
Christ  as  his  Saviour.  He  was  then  placed  under 
regular  instruction  in  one  of  our  high  schools,  and 
made  remarkable  progress ;  and  when  he  presented 
himself  for  baptism,  there  could  have  been  no  question 
as  to  his  faith,  knowledge  and  godliness  of  life,  all  of 
which  were  fully  demonstrated  by  his  subsequent 
career.  After  the  first  apprehension  of  his  need  of  an 
atoning  Saviour,  he  never  seemed  to  have  the  least 
intellectual  difficulty  about  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
or  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  although  he  was  a  mas- 
ter of  the  Koran  and  its  peculiar  doctrines. 

Another  case  was  that  of  Jedaan,  a  young  Bedawy 
Arab  of  the  Anazy  tribe  of  East  Syria.  Coming  to 
Mt.  Lebanon  with  a  flock  of  sheep  to  sell,  he  begged  a 
Protestant  Christian  teacher  to  teach  him  how  to  read. 
There  was  no  apparent  religious  hunger  and  thirst  as 


142        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

in  Kamil's  case.  He  learned  to  read  and  then  entered 
the  B.  S.  M.  boy's  school  in  Beirut.  Here  he  had 
faithful  instruction,  attending  Arabic  preaching  and 
the  Sunday-school.  His  great  difficulty,  strange  to  say, 
was  with  the  Trinity  and  the  divinity  of  Christ,  al- 
though he  had  never  read  the  Koran.  But  by  degrees 
his  difficulties  vanished,  and  at  length  he  asked  for 
Christian  baptism  and  the  communion  of  the  Lord's 
supper.  Both  of  these  young  men  were  baptized  after 
full  examinatiou  by  the  session  of  the  native  evangeli- 
cal church,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  goodly  company 
of  Christian  brethren  and  sisters. 

Another  case  was  that  of  a  young  Shia  Moslem  or 
Metwaly,  taught  from  his  childhood  in  our  mission 
school  in  his  native  village  in  Lebanon.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  asked  Dr.  Ford  of  Sidon  to  baptize  him. 
Dr.  Ford  asked  him  to  get  the  consent  of  his  father. 
The  father,  a  venerable  peasant,  said,  ''My  son,  you 
are  too  young  to  know  your  mind.  If  you  continue  of 
the  same  mind  until  you  are  twenty,  then  you  can  do 
B/S  you  please."  He  came  to  Beirut  and  worked  as  a 
baker's  boy  for  six  years,  and  attended  the  Protestant 
night  school  and  evening  meetings,  until  at  length  he 
asked  and  received  baptism  after  regular  instruction. 
Afterwards,  his  father  having  died,  he  brought  his 
younger  brother,  placed  him  at  his  own  expense  in  the 
Friend's  boarding  school  in  Brumana,  Mt.  Lebanon, 
and  he  gave  early  signs  of  true  piety,  and  I  baptized 
him  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 

Another  was  a  young  man,  liom  another  province 


Conditions  of  Baptism  143 

of  the  empire,  who  fled  from  persecution  some  ten  years 
ago.  He  changed  his  name,  entered  a  high  school,  and 
then  the  theological  class,  and  has  become  a  faithful 
teacher  and  preacher  of  the  gospel.  I  have  asked  him 
to  give  what  he  regards  as  the  necessary  conditions  of 
baptism  for  Mohammedan  converts  and  he  replies  as 
follows  :     (See  Appendix,  page  147.) 

In  the  year  1866,  a  Moslem  carriage  driver  in  Beirut, 
with  a  wife  and  children,  announced  that  Jesus  Christ 
had  appeared  to  him  and  bidden  him  believe  in  Him 
and  be  baptized.  His  wife  was  a  papal  Greek,  born  in 
Acre.  He  told  his  Moslem  employers  of  his  belief  in 
Christianity,  and  they  tried  by  alternate  threats  and 
bribes  to  shake  his  resolve,  but  in  vain.  The  Turkish 
Pasha  proposed  to  send  him  to  Damascus,  but  bj^ 
telegraphing  to  Constantinople  we  obtained  orders 
that  he  be  left  unmolested.  Meantime  he  was  given 
quarters  on  the  American  Mission  premises,  and  the 
Pasha  advised  his  leaving  the  country  for  Egypt,  lest 
the  "lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort"  molest  him. 
There  was  great  excitement  among  the  more  fanatical 
Moslems.  Hassan  begged  to  be  baptized,  declaring  his 
readiness  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  We 
examined  him,  prayed  with  him  and  instructed  him, 
and  then  baptized  him  and  his  children  together,  in 
the  church,  in  the  presence  of  an  invited  and  interested 
company  of  Christian  friends.  Soon  after  this  we 
shipped  him  to  Egypt  where  he  resumed  his  work  as  a 
carriage  driver. 

Boman  Catholic  missionaries  believing  in  baptismal 


144        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

regeneration  will  baptize  men  in  order  to  make  them 
Christians.  We  baptize  men,  whether  Moslems  or  not, 
because  they  are  Christians. 

Article  27  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church  of  England  declares  that,  "  Bap- 
tism is  not  only  a  sign  of  profession,  a  mark  of  differ- 
ence whereby  Christian  men  are  discerned  from  others 
that  be  not  christened,  but  it  is  also  a  sign  of  regeneration 
or  new  birth,  whereby  as  by  an  instrument,  they  that 
receive  baptism  rightly  are  grafted  into  the  Church." 

\ye  take  this  to  mean  that  baptism  is  a  sign  of  a  re- 
generation already  affected,  and  which  entitles  the  ap- 
plicant to  baptism. 

The  practice  of  certain  North  India  missionaries, 
who  labour  among  the  simple  hill  tribes,  and  baptize 
men,  women  and  children  in  multitudes  on  the 
basis  of  a  wish  to  declare  themselves  Christians  and 
thus  separate  themselves  from  heathenism  can  hardly 
be  followed  among  Moslems.  As  a  general  thing 
Moslems  do  not  move  in  masses.  Some  day  they  may. 
I  earnestly  expect  the  rise  of  men  from  among  them- 
selves, who  with  almost  prophetic  zeal  and  influence, 
will  proclaim  Jesus  the  Sou  of  God  to  be  the  true 
Prophet,  Priest  and  King  and  the  only  Saviour  of 
mankind ;  and  that  then  Moslems  will  become  Chris- 
tians by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.  Then  it  may 
be  wise  to  clinch  the  outward  profession  by  a  brief 
course  of  instruction,  and  baptize  them  as  did  our 
Lord  and  His  disciples. 

The  different  evangelical  Churches  differ  widely  as 
to  conditions  of  baptism,  but  I  apprehend  that  all 


Conditions  of  Baptism  145 

agree  as  to  the  importance  of  faith,  knowledge  and 
purity  of  life. 

We  who  live  in  the  lands  of  the  old  Oriental 
Churches,  hear  constantly  the  claim  that  baptism  is  es- 
sential to  salvation,  and  in  the  few  cases  I  have  known, 
where  adult  Moslems,  Druses  or  African  pagan  slaves 
have  professed  Christ,  in  one  of  the  Oriental  Churches, 
the  priest  hastens  to  baptize  the  convert  to  ensure  his 
salvation. 

Mohammedans  living  in  these  lands  would  naturally 
infer  that  baptism  is  essential  to  salvation.  Where 
such  a  view  obtains,  we  should  teach  the  true  mean- 
ing and  import  of  baptism,  lest  too  much  dependence 
be  placed  on  an  outward  rite  ;  while  at  the  same  time, 
we  should  insist  upon  the  outward  rite  as  a  proof  of 
obedience  to  our  divine  Lord's  command. 

The  lenffth  of  probation  before  baptism  must  depend 
largely  upon  the  known  character  of  the  catechumen. 
The  ignorant,  whose  previous  moral  character  is  un- 
known or  not  above  reproach,  should  be  kept  long 
enough  under  instruction  and  observation  to  make  sure 
of  his  true  repentance  and  sincerity,  as  well  as  his  in- 
telligent understanding  of  the  nature  of  the  rite. 
Whereas,  an  ingenuous  youth  like  Kamil,  whose  life  is 
blameless,  and  whose  only  motives  are  religious, 
should  not  be  delayed  longer  than  to  give  him  proper 
doctrinal  instruction,  and  ascertain  his  own  preference 
in  the  case. 

As  to  the  public  or  private  administration  of  baptism 
to  Moslem  converts,  great  wisdom  is  necessary, — much 
depending  upon  the  degree  of  religious  liberty  enjoyed 


146        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

by  the  people.  To  attempt  to  baptize  a  Hajji  in  the 
streets  of  Mecca  would  insure  instant  death  to  both 
parties  in  the  transaction.  To  baptize  publicly,  in 
Damascus  or  Teheran  or  Morocco,  where  the  govern- 
ment is  purely  Mohammedan,  and  the  population 
ignorant  and  fanatical,  would  be  a  serious  mistake. 
In  countries  under  Christian  rule,  English,  French, 
German  or  Dutch,  it  may  be  both  safe  and  wise  to  ad- 
vise a  convert  to  profess  Christ  boldly  in  baptism,  as  a 
proof  of  his  sincerity  and  a  testimony  to  others.  The 
battle  for  religious  liberty  must  be  fought  and  won  at 
some  time,  but  no  one  can  decide  for  another  when  that 
time  has  come. 

One  of  the  distinctive  features  of  Islam  is  intense 
pride,  exclusiveness  and  religious  pharisaism,  and 
death  to  apostates.  The  apostate  is  to  be  punished  by 
death  if,  after  being  warned  three  times,  he  refuses  to 
recant,  and  Christian  baptism  is  a  sure  sign  of  such 
apostasy.  With  a  whole  population  fully  convinced 
of  the  divine  injunction  to  execute  all  apostates,  and  a 
government  unwilling  to  interfere  for  the  protection  of 
those  professing  Christianity,  it  becomes  foreign  mis- 
sionaries to  be  "wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as 
doves." 

India  is  far  in  advance  of  Egypt,  and  Egypt  still 
farther  advanced  than  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Palestine  and 
Arabia,  in  the  matter  of  liberty  of  conscience. 

Our  forefathers  gained  this  precious  right  at  great 
cost.  The  people  of  the  East,  the  followers  of  Ishim, 
may  yet  rise  and  secure  the  same  rights  at  whatevei 
cost.     But  such  a  movement  amonji  the  fatalistic  Mos 


Conditions  of  Baptism  147 

lems  is  very  uulikely.  It  is  far  more  likely  to  come 
through  the  increasing  influence  of  Christian  govern- 
ments in  the  Mohammedan  world. 


APPENDIX 

I.  A  Moslem  Convert's  Views  Obtained  in  An- 
swer TO  Inquiry  as  to  the  Faith  Required 
FOR  Baptism 

1.  The  unity  of  God  in  Trinity. — This  is  essential 
in  the  faith  of  a  Moslem  convert  to  Christianity. 

The  unity  of  God  is  the  vital  and  fundamental  prin- 
ciple and  doctrine  of  Islam.  In  this  it  agrees  with 
Christianity,  and  is  in  accord  with  it  to  a  certain 
degree.  But  the  doctrine  of  a  Trinity  is  the  most  diffi- 
cult of  all  doctrines  to  a  Moslem,  and  if  he  has  actually 
accepted  this,  all  the  other  tenets  connected  with  atone- 
ment and  redemption  will  be  accepted,  together  with 
the  ordinance  by  which  we  profess  our  faith,  the  sign 
of  which  is  baptism. 

2.  He  must  believe  in  the  need  of  redemption  and 
sauctification.  This  system  is  built  on  divine  mercy. 
Now  mercy  is  a  thing  Moslems  understand,  but  what 
they  mean  does  not  honour  God,  as  does  His  mercy  in 
the  redemption  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  No  other 
religion  teaches  the  mercy  of  God  in  the  atoning  work 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  does  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Sanctification  is  not  understood  by  Moslems,  al- 
though the  Bible  regards  redemption  and  sanctification 
as  of  vital  importance  in  dealing  with  sinful  man. 
Christianity  reveals  God  as  Creator,  Redeemer  and 
Sanctifier,  i.  e.,  as  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit. 


148        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

3.  He  must  believe  in  the  gospel  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  is  easy  for  the  Moslem  to  believe  the  Old 
Testament  (Tourat).  Man  is  a  sinner,  carnal,  and  re- 
ceives a  carnal  religion  sooner  than  a  spiritual  one. 
He  cannot  accept  the  Christian  religion  unless  changed 
by  a  spiritual  power  from  God.  Every  religion  has  its 
book,  and  the  Moslem  convert  must  receive  the  Bible, 
not  because  of  its  philosophy,  but  because  it  is  inspired 
of  God  and  of  divine  authority. 

4.  He  must  believe  in  the  divine  authority  of  the 
New  Testament  from  its  external  and  internal  evidence. 

II.     How  Much  Knowledge  Must  he  Possess  ! 

1.  The  degree  of  the  knowledge  required  depends 
on  his  faith.  If  he  believes  in  the  Trinity  and  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  that  the  gospel  is  the  word  of 
God,  this  faith  is  fundamental  and  leads  to  ''  the  end 
of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls" 
(1  Pet.  1 :  9). 

Since  "  not  many  wise,  not  many  mighty,  not  many 
noble  are  called,"  we  cannot  make  great  intellectual 
knowledge  a  condition,  but  rather  the  spiritual  and 
religious  knowledge.  Salvation  depends  on  simple 
faith  and  imperfect  knowledge  should  not  hinder 
baptism. 

2.  The  degree  of  knowledge  depends  also  upon  his 
zeal  in  following  the  gospel.  "  If  any  man  will  do  His 
will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine"  (John  7:  17), 
and  this  is  as  true  of  the  wise  as  of  the  ignorant  Mos- 
lem converts.  The  learned  Moslem  will  not  accept 
Christ  until  he  is  convinced  of  its  superiority  to  Islam, 


Conditions  of  Baptism  149 

and  the  ig-norant  and  simple  minded  Moslem  Tfill  ac- 
cept Christian  doctrine  without  being  troubled  by  the 
sophistical  arguments  of  the  sheikhs,  and  will  receive 
it  with  simplicity  and  honesty. 

3.  The  degree  of  knowledge  also  depends  on  his 
desire  to  live  a  holy  life.  He  should  understand  that 
redemption  and  sanctification  belong  together,  and  that 
a  holy  life  is  more  important  than  great  knowledge, 
because  it  proves  sincerity  and  fidelity. 

4.  In  some  respects  the  true  Moslem  convert  should 
be  more  sincere  than  others.  (1)  Persecution  tries  and 
purifies  him,  and  few  Moslem  converts  escape  this 
severe  trial.  (2)  It  is  a  great  thing  for  a  Moslem  to 
change  his  faith  and  doctrine  for  that  of  the  Christian. 
Moslem  doctrine  is  like  that  of  the  Christian  with  re- 
gard to  God,  and  angels,  and  books,  and  prophets,  and 
apostles,  and  creation,  and  resurrection,  day  of  judg- 
ment, rewards  and  punishments :  but  unlike  it  in 
points  no  less  important.  The  two  are  thus  near  each 
other  and  far  from  each  other,  and  the  Moslem  convert 
sees  the  distance  between  them,  and  not  the  nearness 
to  each  other.  He  has  therefore  done  a  great  work 
and  made  a  great  change  in  his  views  and  doctrine, 
and  consequently  in  his  principles  and  aims.  He  has 
therefore  counted  the  cost  and  acted  with  sincerity. 

Islam  contains  many  doctrines  not  contrary  to  man's 
intellect,  and  he  cannot  be  required  to  give  them  up 
or  regard  them  as  false.  The  word  ''  Unity  of  God" 
is  the  honour  and  glory  of  Islam,  and  if  a  Moslem  can- 
not see  a  greater  glory  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
''  Trinity  in  Unity,"  he  cannot  accept  baptism. 


150        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Therefore  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  Moslem's  leaving 
his  faith  for  any  other  than  the  Christian  faith  ;  and 
for  the  same  reason  he  will  prefer  Protestant  evangeli- 
cal Christianity  to  the  other  Christian  sects.  If  then 
a  Moslem  accepts  Christianity,  it  will  be  for  sufficient 
reasons  or  ample  conviction,  which  will  suffice  without 
great  knowledge  as  a  condition  of  baptism. 

III.    What  Degree  of  Holy  Living  Should  be 
Eequieed  ? 

1.  In  general  a  change  in  his  life.  But  he  should 
be  judged  by  his  principles  and  point  of  view  and  ob- 
ject. The  weak  should  not  be  judged  like  the  strong, 
nor  the  simple  as  the  learned.  A  difference  in  non- 
essentials of  habit  and  life  is  no  proof  of  a  true  or 
false  Christianity,  and  the  habit  of  judging  all  by  one 
standard  will  produce  suspicion,  imputing  false  motives 
and  perhaps  revulsion. 

You  graft  a  tree.  The  graft  grows  and  bears  good 
fruit.  Other  shoots  spring  up  below  the  graft  and  bear 
bitter  and  worthless  fruit.  Do  not  cut  it  down.  It  is 
better  than  it  was  before.  Try  to  prune  the  old  shoots 
and  leave  the  new. 

2.  The  life  required  of  the  Moslem  candidate  for 
baptism  is  that  which  is  in  principle  and  in  general 
better  than  his  former  life.  And  the  greater  the  differ- 
ence between  it  and  the  former  life,  the  better  it  is. 
*'  Old  things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  be- 
come new."  The  Apostle  Peter  says  (1  Pet.  1 :  15, 16) 
''  As  He  which  has  called  jon  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in 
all  manner  of  conversation  :  because  it  is  written,  Be 


Conditions  of  Baptism  ijfl 

ye  holy  for  I  am  holy."  If  both  the  vital  and  funda- 
mental points  and  the  incidental  and  non-essential  are 
holy,  that  is  the  best  that  can  be  hoped  for  ;  but  let  us 
not  judge  accidental  errors  as  if  they  were  essential, 
nor  allow  non-essential  mistakes  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  baptism. 

IV.    How  Long  Should  be  the  Probation  of  the 
Moslem  Candidate  for  Baptism  ? 

1.  Baptism  should  follow  faith  at  once.  He  who 
believes  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God, 
believes  in  His  divinity,  and  thus  receives  Him  as  his 
sufficient  Saviour,  and  thus  receives  and  acknowledges 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  thus  he  has  accepted  the  Trinity 
and  the  vital  condition  of  baptism.     (See  Mark  16  :  16.) 

The  people  asked  Peter  and  all  the  apostles,  ' '  Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do f"  Peter  said,  ''Re- 
pent and  be  baptized,  every  one  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  i.  e.,  at  once  and  promptly.  The  eunuch 
said,  "See  here  is  water,  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be 
baptized  ? "  And  Philip  said,  ''  If  thou  believest  with 
all  thy  heart,  thou  may  est."  And  he  answered  and 
said,  ''  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God." 
And  he  baptized  him  (Acts  8  :  37,  38). 

See  also  other  passages  in  the  Acts.  If  now  all  these 
were  baptized  at  once  on  profession  of  their  faith  and 
whole  families  and  children  on  the  faith  of  their  par- 
ents, I  see  no  reason  why  a  Moslem  convert  should  not 
be  baptized  as  soon  as  he  professes  his  faith  in  Christ 
as  the  Son  of  God  and  a  divine  Saviour  and  Redeemer, 
for  it  is  on  this  ground  that  he  is  baptized. 


152        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

2.  Circumstances  may  differ  and  some  may  reqnire 
probation  to  test  their  sincerity,  but  the  apostolic  rule 
seems  the  right  one  to  follow. 

V.  Should  a  Baptized  Moslem  be  Eeceived  at 
Once  to  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper! 

He  should  examine  himself,  as  all  Christians  are 
bound  to  do.  As  a  rule  he  should  be  received  at  once. 
Postponement  should  be  the  exception. 

Moslem  converts  usually  have  sufficient  probation 
and  testing  by  persecution,  before  baptism ;  their 
longer  delay  should  be  exceptional.  They  have  been 
in  fellowship  with  Christ  in  suffering — let  them  have 
fellowship  with  His  people  at  His  table. 

VI.  Should  Doubts  as  to  the  Trinity  and  the 
Divinity  of  Christ  Prevent  Baptism  ? 

If  these  doubts  prevent  trust  in  Christ  as  a  Saviour, 
they  should  prevent  baptism,  as  the  object  and  end  of 
faith  is  salvation.  He  who  says,  I  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  is  a  Christian,  and  who  can 
forbid  his  baptism  ?  ^ 

Discussion  on  Paper  on  Conditions  of  Baptism  by  Dr. 
Jessup  : 

Dr.  Wherry  asked,  "In  case  of  a  Moslem  enquirer 
who  was  living  with  more  than  one  wife,  or  a  woman 
who  was  one  of  several  wives,  what  should  you  ad- 
vise?" 

'Those  who  wish  to  preach  to  Moslems  and  baptize  them, 
should,  after  asking  divine  help,  read  Kindy's  book,  and  Anselm'a 
Cur  Deits  Hotno,  which  are  both  translated  into  Arabic. 


Conditions  of  Baptism  153 

Dr.  Jessup  said  in  his  erperience  it  had  not  occurred. 
There  would  be  the  same  difficulty  in  Africa,  India 
and  elsewhere.  It  must  be  decided  by  the  conscience 
of  the  man.  He  should  not  allow  him  to  continue  liv- 
ing with  more  than  one. 

Dr.  Wherry  mentioned  a  case  in  India  where  a  man 
and  his  two  wives  all  wished  to  be  baptized,  but  neither 
was  ready  to  leave  her  husband  j  another  case  of  a 
man  baptized,  and  later  his  two  wives  were  converted. 
One  eventually  retired  voluntarily. 

Dr.  Zwemer  mentioned  a  book.  Missions  and  Polyg- 
amy, issued  in  Dutch  from  Utrecht,  and  reviewed  in 
the  Missionary  Revieic  of  the  World  during  the  last  five 
months.  He  said  that  up  till  the  period  of  the  Eefor- 
mation  the  Church  had  not  been  united  on  the  ques- 
tion. Since  then  it  had  been  united,  but  at  the  pres- 
ent time  the  matter  was  being  discussed  again. 

Dr.  Eddy  asked  what  is  the  actual  practice?  To 
administer  baptism  because  they  leave  Islam,  or  be- 
cause they  are  converted  to  Christianity. 

Dr.  Dickins  spoke  of  a  convert  who  left  his  wife  by 
her  wish.  He  knew  this  would  be  the  case  if  he  be- 
came a  Christian. 

Bev.  B.  Maclnnes,  Dr.  Ewing,  and  Dr.  Young  all 
stated  that  converts  would  be  baptized  because  they 
were  believed  to  be  truly  converted,  not  because  they 
left  Islam. 

Mr.  Gairdner  asked  if  the  separated  women  might 
marry  again. 

Dr.  Young  thought  not — the  husband  would  con- 
tinue to  support  them. 


154        Mission  Work.  Among  Moslems 

Dr.  Pennings  said  that  iu  the  Ea«t  Indies  all  •vrer© 
not  of  one  view.  Some  would  insist  on  the  convert  for- 
saking all  but  the  first  wife — others  would  debar  them 
only  from  church  office. 

Dr.  Eiolng  said  a  man  with  two  wives  had  recently 
come  to  him.  It  had  been  decided  he  must  not  retain 
both. 

Mr.  Van  Ess  spoke  of  a  man  who  asked  if  he  might 
divorce  his  wife  before  becoming  a  Christian. 

Dr.  WeitbrecM  said  we  were  touching  the  fringe  of  a 
very  complicated  question.  The  Lambeth  Conference 
discussed  the  matter  in  1888  and  there  was  great  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  The  Western  and  Indian  bishops 
would  admit  them.  The  African  bishops  said  if  that 
were  done  it  would  ruin  the  position  of  the  church. 
Eventually  it  was  recommended  that  polygamist  con- 
verts should  only  be  admitted  as  catechumens,  except 
on  their  death-bed.  The  decision  was  a  provisional 
one.  We  need  light  from  all  possible  quarters.  What 
is  to  happen  to  the  wife  ?  According  to  Moslem  law 
the  marriage  is  dissolved.  If  they  rejoin  one  another 
is  a  new  marriage  necessary  ? 

What  amount  of  instruction  should  he  given  before 
baptism?  It  is  usual  to  demand  the  elements,  i.e., 
an  understanding  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  as  the  rule  of 
faith,  the  Lord's  Prayer  as  the  rule  of  devotion,  and 
the  Commandments  as  the  rule  of  life.  There  is  great 
facility  for  a  relapse,  and  hence  the  period  of  proba- 
tion or  catechumenate,  i.  e.,  admission  as  a  catechumen 
by  a  definite  service  and  then  the  testing  of  the  life 
for  six  months  or  a  year  before  being  admitted  to 


Conditions  of  Baptism  155 

holy  baptism.  In  the  course  of  the  catechumenate  it 
is  considered  desirable  to  make  a  renunciation  of  Islam 
— i.  e.,  to  "  bui-n  his  boats  behind  him." 

Dr.  Zwemer  said,  What  can  baptism  do  for  the  con- 
vert? He  becomes  an  exile — but  in  addition  to  the 
sign  and  seal,  is  it  not  a  means  of  grace  ?  Have  we  the 
right  to  withhold  it  1 

A  man  in  Arabia  was  kept  for  a  long  time  under 
instruction.  He  was  exiled  before  baptism.  True,  he 
was  ministered  to  elsewhere,  but  he  might  not  have  been. 
I  think  a  converted  Moslem  has  the  right  to  receive 
the  help  and  means  of  grace  by  baptism.  To  sign  the 
pledge  is  good  for  the  drunkard — it  clinches  the  turn- 
ing. For  his  sake,  even  though  he  may  afterwards 
fall  away,  it  should  not  be  denied.  By  even  reading 
his  Bible  he  suffers — he  has  a  right  to  the  help  of 
baptism. 

Dr.  Jordan  said  the  subject  divides  itself  into  two 
parts  :  (1)  Baptism  in  lands  of  freedom  ;  (2)  baptism  in 
lands  of  persecution.  Where  persecution  is  certain, 
converts  cannot  be  baptized  too  soon  after  being  really 
convinced. 

Mr.  Larson :  The  Bokhara  baptism  can  take  place 
quickly  because  the  people  are  true ;  elsewhere  this  is 
not  so. 

Dr.  Pennings  asked  for  an  opinion  with  regard  to 
the  baptism  of  minors,  especially  of  orphan  children 
(eight  to  sixteen  years). 

Dr.  Jessup  spoke  of  such  a  child  baptized  in  Jaffa, 
who  has  remained  true  under  persecution. 

Dr.  Heirick  said,  One  point  has  not  been  brought 


156        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

forward.  For  a  long  time  it  was  a  rule  that  any  con- 
vert baptized  was  received  into  the  existing  Christian 
church.  Often  baptism  was  long  postponed  because 
the  convert  must  be  received  into  the  English  or 
American  church,  neither  of  which  languages  he  un- 
derstood. 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  this  could  not  occur  where  there 
was  no  church.  He  must  be  admitted  into  a  future 
church. 

Mr.  Gairdner  said  he  thought  there  was  a  tendency 
to  be  too  long  in  baptizing,  and  gave  instances  in  his 
experience.  In  Uganda  they  were  quick  at  first  but 
have  become  slower.  In  the  early  history  of  a  church 
baptism  can  be  more  speedy  than  later. 

He  further  asked  with  regard  to  minors  what  should 
be  done  when  the  parents,  or  one  parent  has  become  a 
Christian. 

Dr.  Jessup  would  baptize  them. 

Dr.  Jordan  spoke  of  two  unmarried  girls  whose 
father  would  give  consent  to  their  baptism  except  for 
his  own  financial  ruin. 

Dr.  Jessup  said  such  a  matter  must  be  left  to  the 
girls'  own  decision. 

Dr.  Wherry  said  that  if  a  man  divorces  his  wife,  it 
would  be  but  to  be  remarried  to  her  if  she  returned. 

Dr.  Pennings  said.  If  you  baptize  the  Moslem  chil- 
dren of  Christian  parents,  would  you  not  baptize 
children  in  an  orphanage  ? 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  yes,  and  instanced  rescued  slave 
childi-en  who  had  been  forced  to  become  Moslems. 

Mr.  Goldsaclc  said,  Moslem  civil  law  gives  guardian- 


Conditions  of  Baptism  157 

ship  of  children  to  the  mother  up  to  a  certain  age.  In 
India  women  often  claim  this  right. 

Dr.  Wherry :  There  is  such  a  law,  which  is  some- 
times made  to  work  both  ways,  the  girls  being  given 
to  the  mother  till  fifteen  and  the  boys  till  seven. 

Dr.  Jessup  said  that  in  the  case  of  the  children  of  a 
Christian  wife  and  Moslem  husband,  the  law  would 
give  the  children  back  to  the  wife. 

Dr.  Alexander  mentioned  a  case  where  a  man  with 
two  wives  was  baptized  with  the  children  of  the  sec- 
ond wife.  He  put  away  the  mother  of  the  children. 
The  older  chose  to  go  with  the  father  and  the  younger 
with  the  mother. 


HOW  TO  WIN  MOSLEM  RACES 
Rev.  G.  F.  Hereick,  D.  D. 

The  writer  claims  to  speak  only  for  the  country  with 
■which  he  is  acquainted.  Others  will  judge  whether  or 
not  the  principles  here  enunciated  will  apply  in  other 
lands. 

On  my  arrival  at  Constantinople,  in  1859,  appointed 
as  a  missionary  especially  to  Mohammedans,  I  found 
already  established  in  work  for  the  devotees  of  Islam 
the  well-known  Dr.  Pfander,  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society.  He  had  adopted  here,  as  he  had  before  done 
in  India,  the  method  of  theological  controversj'.  He 
was  just  publishing  his  Mizan  ul  HaJck,  and  other 
books,  printed  in  England,  but  prepared  for  the  press 
here,  with  the  able  assistance  of  a  Turkish  scholar, 
very  competent  for  the  task,  a  man  who,  though  he 
filled,  from  time  to  time,  for  more  than  forty  years, 
various  high  offices  under  the  Ottoman  government, 
yet  was  always  handicapped  by  the  knowledge,  shared 
by  a  few  rivals,  of  his  relation  to  the  controversial 
work  of  Dr.  Pfander.  Four  years  later,  in  1864,  the 
government  became  thoroughly  aroused  in  anger 
against  Dr.  Pfander' s  work.  His  books  were  pro- 
scribed and  confiscated.  Any  Moslem  person  found 
reading  his  books,  or  attending  any  place  of  Christian 
worship,  or  fiecjuenting  the  house  of  a  missionary, 

158 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  159 

was  put  under  surveillance,  and,  if  he  persisted,  "was 
arrested  and  exiled. 

This  illiberal  policy  was  pursued  from  that  time  on, 
and  the  reaction  against  the  comparative  freedom  of 
the  years  immediately  following  the  Crimean  War  has 
been  much  accentuated  during  the  thirty  years  of  the 
present  reign.  Indeed  appeals  are  no  longer  made  to 
the  Hatti  Houmayoun  of  1856,  which  was  long  since 
repudiated  by  the  Turkish  government  as  having  any 
application  to  those  who  were  born  Moslem.  The 
work  begun  by  Dr.  Pfander  was  continued  a  few  years 
in  a  less  controversial  manner  by  Eev.  Mr.  Weakley 
and  Eev.  Dr.  Koelle,  but  was  long  since  abandoned. 
The  work  undertaken  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  for  Mo- 
hammedans was,  because  of  the  storm  raised  by  con- 
troversial methods,  in  1864,  no  longer  conducted  as  a 
distinct  and  avowed  branch  of  missionary  work.  The 
aim  to  reach  the  Mohammedans  with  the  gospel  mes- 
sage was,  however,  never  lost  sight  of,  nor  was  effort 
relaxed.  The  Bible  was  retranslated  into  the  Osmanli 
Turkish,  and  is  widely  circulated.  A  number  of 
books  of  a  non-controversial  character  have  been  is- 
sued with  the  government  imprimatur.  In  one  in- 
stance replies  to  coarse  attacks  upon  Christianity  were 
published.  These  books  have  been  widely  sold,  while, 
of  portions  of  the  Bible,  chiefly  single  books,  not  less 
than  one  hundred  thousand  copies  have  been  pur- 
chased by  Turks  within  the  last  twenty  years.  This 
does  not  mean  that  there  is,  among  that  people,  any 
general  turning  towards  acceptance  of  Christianity. 
It  means  inquiry.     It  means  a  shattering  of  old  preju- 


l6o        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

dice.  It  means,  in  very  many  instances,  a  silent  and 
secret  protest  against  the  excessive  jealousy  existing  in 
palace  circles  of  any  leaning  of  their  own  people  to- 
wards Christians  and  Christianity. 

The  general  sentiment  even  among  those  who  are 
most  liberal,  is  not  so  much  friendly  towards  us  as 
Christians  as  it  is  a  desire  to  share  in  the  benefits  of 
the  philanthropic  work,  i.  e. ,  the  educational,  medical 
and  literary  work,  in  which  we  are  engaged  among 
the  other  races.  Both  the  Christian  doctrine  and  the 
Christian  life  of  which  the  Turk  has  known,  has  been 
lacking  in  winning  power.  Could  we  expect  him  to 
be  convinced  of  the  deeper  truth  and  the  more  com- 
manding claims  of  Christianity  from  what  it  has 
been  possible  for  him  to  know  of  it  until  veiy  recent 
years? 

An  intelligent  Turk, — and  there  are  many  of  them, 
— is  as  familiar  as  we  are  with  lurid  pages  of  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity  in  Mediaeval  Europe.  There  is 
not  among  the  races  of  the  nearer  east  a  more  in- 
genious and  mentally  honest  race  than  the  Turks,  and 
one  upon  which  controversy  will  be  certain  to  produce 
more  baleful  effects.  There  are  no  people  more  sus- 
ceptible to  considerate  kindness,  none  who  respond 
more  gratefully  to  the  help  we  bring  in  answer  to  their 
perhaps  unvoiced  appeals  for  our  help  in  times  of 
general  distress,  or  in  personal  illness  and  suffering. 
More  important  than  this  the  Turks  appreciate  the 
contrast  between  the  life  and  character  of  Mohammed, 
as  the  Koran  and  their  traditions  make  it  known,  and 
that  of  Christ  as  presented  in  the  gospel  narratives. 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  161 

Observe  we  have  no  occasion  to  draw  out  the  contrast. 
They  will  themselves  do  that.  If  we  will  stop  wasting 
our  ammunition  and  our  strength  in  effort  to  make 
trinitarian  doctrine  intelligible  and  acceptable  to 
Moslem  unitarians,  and  give  all  our  strength  to  a 
presentation  to  Mohammedans  whenever  they  will 
lend  us  their  ears,  of  the  life  and  character  of  Jesus 
the  Christ,  we  shall  find  a  response  more  ready  and 
more  hearty  than  many  of  us  dare  hope  for.  But  an- 
other and  yet  more  difficult  problem  still  faces  us, 
viz.,  that  of  surrounding  Mohammedans  with  a  truly 
Christian  atmosphere,  created  by  the  pure,  the  truly 
Christlike  living  of  those  who  bear  His  name. 

If  we  ask  the  Turk, — in  his  native  character  no  tru- 
culent barbarian  but  a  very  human  man,  let  us  remem- 
ber,— "What  can  we  do  for  you  I"  let  us  not  be  sur- 
prised if  he  replies,  at  first,  "  We  want  nothing  to  do 
with  your  religion."  Let  us  accept  it  in  all  humility, 
but  with  more  enduring  courage,  that  it  is  a  longer  and 
more  difficult  road  than  is  generally  supposed,  along 
which  we  must  lead  men  of  Oriental  races  and  of  alien 
creeds  to  Christ,  the  Living  Way. 

Now  let  us  see  what  the  observing,  fair-minded  Turk 
of  to-day,  when  free  to  speak  his  mind,  does  say  to  us. 
Listen.  "We  are  watching  your  work  among  us,  and 
we  see  first  your  schools.  These  in  the  ability,  the  no- 
ble impartiality,  the  pure  morality  that  characterize 
their  administration,  challenge  our  admiration  and  our 
imitation,  and  attract  our  youth. 

"Again,  we  recognize  the  purity  and  the  excep- 
tional value  of  the  moral,  educational  and  scientific 


l62        Mission  Work.  Among  Moslems 

issues  of  your  press.  You  care  nothing  for  rumours 
and  sensation  in  your  news  columns.  We  say  of  your 
Messenger,  '  It  never  laughs  and  it  never  lies.' 

''The  heart  of  our  people  has  been  deeply  touched 
by  the  treatment  some  of  us  have  received  in  your  hos- 
pitals, kind  and  self-sacrificing  beyond  any  care  we 
ever  received  elsewhere  or  even  dreamed  of. 

"We  have  also  noted,  and  have  sometimes  shared  in 
the  benefit  of  your  efforts  to  relieve  suffering  in  times 
of  distress,  efforts  limited  by  no  conditions  of  race  or 
religion.  We  like  these  evidences  of  philanthropic 
enterprise,  with  no  ulterior  or  selfish  designs  upon  our 
country." 

Turks  often  speak  to  us  in  just  this  way.  What 
shall  be  our  answer  to  such  a  welcome  as  this  ?  Shall 
we  say,  "  We  are  missionaries  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  of  the  Protestant  branch  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  our  sole  errand  among  you  is  to  convince  you  of 
the  falsity  of  your  ancestral  faith,  and  to  win  you  to 
faith  in  Christ  alone."  Shall  we  say  that?  For  one  I 
hold  that  Christianity  alone  deserves  to  be  called  a 
missionary  religion,  because  it  alone  confers  spiritual 
blessings  upon  men,  with  no  expectation  of  personal 
or  national  gain  to  those  who  are  its  heralds. 

But  for  this  very  reason,  viz.,  because  it  is  purely 
and  unqualifiedly  beneficent,  the  representatives  of 
Christianity  in  the  East,  as  soon  as  they  gain  a  correct 
conception  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  live  and 
work,  learn  that  the  way  to  reach  Moslem  peoples  is 
not  by  theological  discussion  but  by  winning  them, 
through  living  a  Chrislike  life  before  their  eyes,  and 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  163 

by  bestowing  upon  them  those  blessings  that  they  crave 
at  our  hands. 

Controversy  is  opposed  to  sympathy,  and,  while  it 
lasts,  displaces  sympathy.  But  a  genuinely  sympa- 
thetic attitude  of  mind  as  well  as  of  feeling  is  a  sine  qua 
non  to  the  possibility  of  influence  which  touches  the 
heart,  and  it  is  with  the  heart  that  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness.  It  is  often  confidently  asserted,  quite 
in  the  form  of  a  challenge,  "  The  life  and  character  of 
Christian  peoples,  when  compared  with  the  life  and 
character  of  Moslem  peoples,  is  convincing  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity."  Granted,  on  all  sides,  in 
respect  of  all  that  relates  to  material  progress  and  pros- 
perity. But  dare  we  go  further  ?  Multitudes  of  intel- 
ligent Mohammedans,  in  our  day  promptly  accept  the 
challenge  offered.  The  Turks  point  the  finger  of  scorn 
at  the  scenes  to  which  ''Christian  "  Eussia  last  autumn, 
at  Odessa  and  elsewhere  treated  the  observing  world, 
and  say,  "  That  is  your  Christianity.  It  was  you  who, 
a  little  while  ago,  mercilessly  condemned  us,  because, 
in  suppressing  sedition,  we  shed  some  comparatively 
innocent  blood." 

We  have  got  to  live  better,  and  the  Christian  world 
has  got  to  live  better,  before  our  arguments  for  Chris- 
tianity will,  in  the  judgment  of  fair-minded  Moham- 
medans, bring  down  even  the  intellectual  scales  against 
Islam.  Our  hopes  that  evangelical  Christianity,  sin- 
cerely and  loyally  lived  before  the  eyes  of  the  Turks, 
would  win  them  to  faith  in  Christ,  suffered  a  grievous 
disappointment,  when,  in  the  events  of  a  decade  ago 
some  Armenian  Protestants  were  found  accessory  to  plot- 


164        Mission  Work.  Among  Moslems 

tings  against  the  government  under  which  they  live 
You  may,  if  you  will,  at  other  times  and  in  other 
places — for  with  political  questions  this  conference  has 
no  concern, — justify  the  aims  of  those  who  rose  in  se- 
dition. But  you  will  never  convince  the  Turks  that  a 
Christianity  which  permits  acts  like  those  of  the  avowed 
revolutionists  has  a  claim  upon  them  superior  to  their 
own  religion. 

To  give  account  of  the  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in 
us,  because  we  trust  in  Christ  is  quite  another  matter 
than  the  attempt,  buttressed  with  however  cogent 
reasons,  to  show  to  another  the  baselessness  of  the  hope 
on  which  he,  like  his  ancestors  for  forty  generations, 
has  trustingly  rested.  "Win  the  heart  of  men  to  see 
Jesus  as  He  is  and  oui-  work  is  done. 

We  have  no  apologetic  to  construct.  The  founda- 
tions of  our  faith  are  too  firm  for  that.  Our  tone  should 
be  that  of  ringing  confidence.  We  have  a  divine 
Saviour  to  offer  to  men,  the  only  name  given  whereby 
men  can  be  saved.  But  I  deprecate  the  free  use  of 
military  terms.  Our  object  is  to  mn  men.  If  we  do 
that  the  chains  of  the  false  systems  that  have  enslaved 
them  will  fall  to  pieces  of  themselves.  Fighting  is  a 
scriptural  term,  but  it  is  used  for  that  spiritual  conflict 
which  is  no  small  part  of  our  life  on  earth,  a  conflict 
with  sin,  temptation  and  the  unseen  powers  of  evil. 
Our  love  for  souls  enslaved  should  be  so  sympathetic 
that  we  shall  shun  the  use  of  terms  that  will  strike 
those  we  would  save  as  meaning  personal  hostility. 
The  hour  will  come,  when,  under  the  light  of  God's 
word  and  spirit,  they  will  themselves  see  that  their 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  165 

deadliest  foe  is  the  damning  error  which  is  interfused 
with  the  basal  truths  of  their  ancestral  faith. 

Winning  is  the  word  and  winning  is  to  be  our  en- 
deavour, and  along  that  path  success  is  waiting. 
Christ  healed  the  sick.  We  can  do  that,  in  these  days, 
with  unrivalled  success.  Christ  taught,  in  very  simple 
language,  that  God  is  not  only  our  sovereign  but  our 
Father.  Islam  not  only  has  not  this  doctrine  in  its 
creed.  It  repels  the  idea,  but  how  the  human  heart 
everywhere  responds  to  this  evangel.  We  often  have 
occasion  to  revise  our  preconceived  notions  of  the  way 
in  which  men  will  respond  to  the  gospel  message.  I 
once  asked  a  learned  Arab  Koord,  a  dear  friend  of 
mine,  who  was  led  to  believe  in  Chi-ist  by  careful 
reading  of  the  Bible,  with  the  guidance  of  a  deacon  of 
the  Evangelical  church  at  Mosul,  just  what  it  was  that 
finally  led  him  to  accept  the  Christian  faith.  I  ex- 
pected he  would  point  to  some  of  those  words  in  the 
Gospels  which  I  knew  had  deeply  impressed  him.  He 
replied,  "It  was  a  comparison  of  Islamic  tradition 
concerning  Solomon  with  the  Old  Testament  narra- 
tive." 

The  turning  of  the  face  towards  Christ  may  be  much 
more  indirect  than  this.  Western  science  is  a  power- 
ful uplifting  lever  to  the  Oriental  mind.  "  I  am  read- 
ing your  book  on  Natural  Theology  for  the  fifth  time," 
said  the  governor  of  an  interior  city  to  me  some  time 
ago.  "You  have  done  our  people  a  most  valuable 
service,"  said  a  high  officer  of  state  to  the  translator  of 
a  standard  book  on  Physical  Geography,  on  its  issue  in 
Osmanli  Turkish.     When  the  Turkish  manuscript  of 


i66        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

my  book  on  Xatural  Theology  was  before  tlie  board  of 
censors,  some  years  ago,  all  approved  except  one  white- 
turbaned  Tui'k.  "What  do  you  object  to  in  the 
book  ?  "  they  asked  him.  "To  nothing  in  the  book," 
he  replied,  "  but  one  of  us  ought  to  have  written  it." 
Several  years  later,  a  little  book  of  very  high  moral 
tone  entitled  Christian  Ilanliness  was  toned  down  as  to 
distinctively  Christian  instruction,  and  offered  for 
publication  with  the  title  Manliness.  Again  a  member 
of  the  Ulema  objected.  "  We  see  nothing  to  object  to 
in  this,"  his  colleagues  said.  "It  smells  of  Christian- 
ity all  through,"  he  replied. 

To  the  insane  desire  to  fling  the  Turk,  bag  and 
baggage,  not  only  out  of  Europe,  but  off  the  surface  of 
this  planet,  let  our  answer  be,  "Please  God,  we  will 
win  the  Turk  to  trust  us,  and  in  all  friendliness  invite 
him  to  share  the  blessings  that  Christian  civilization 
has  conferred  upon  us."  Suppose  the  Turk  were 
every  whit  as  bad  as  some  represent  him,  is  not,  then, 
the  call  more  urgent  and  compelling,  for  us  to  go  to 
him,  in  deeper  and  more  loving  sympathy,  with  our 
hands  full  of  our  choicest,  richest  gifts'? 

We  do  open  our  schools  to  him.  We  receive  him, 
when  sick,  into  our  hospitals.  We  offer  him,  through 
our  press,  the  ripest  and  choicest  things  in  our  own 
language.  Then  let  us  be  both  patient  and  hopeful 
while  we  wait  for  his  acceptance  of  what  we  offer. 
Let  us  give  a  Moslem  what  he  feels  the  need  of  and  will 
be  grateful  for,  and  then  let  God,  by  His  providence 
and  spirit,  and  through  the  winning  power  of  a  prac- 
tical  Christianity  accomplisli  all  that  for  which  we 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  167 

pray.  Let  us  not  forget  our  Lord's  words,  "The 
Kingdom  of  heaven  cometh  not  with  observation,"  and 
let  us  work  on  unanxious  about  any  public  heralding 
of  the  results  of  our  labours.  There  will  be  some 
mutual  surprise,  it  is  believed,  during  the  sessions  of 
this  conference,  to  see  how  much  of  beneficent  result 
has  already  been  achieved,  and  shall  we  not  return  to 
our  several  posts  with  deeper  gratitude  and  more 
robust  confidence  in  God  ? 

Are  we  not,  at  the  present  day,  at  least,  approach- 
ing, though  at  a  slow  pace  and  far  from  the  goal,  the 
time  when  the  representations  of  Christianity,  person- 
ally known  to  Mohammedans,  will  illustrate  in  their 
lives  noble  self-sacrifice  for  others'  welfare,  in  contrast 
to  narrow  self-seeking,  whether  personal,  national  or 
denominational  ? 

That  passion  for  righteousness,  love  of  peace,  con- 
siderateness  for  others'  rights,  which  increasingly 
dominates  international  relations  in  the  world's  lead- 
ing powers  and  peoples,  which  is  making  the  English 
motto  shorter  by  omitting  the  ' '  my ' '  and  making  it 
the  fit  motto  for  the  Christian  world,  God  and  right, 
is  bound  to  bring  forth  blessed  fruit  in  the  interest  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  When  human  governments 
limit  us  most,  let  us  more  loyally  trust  in  God. 

Let  us  show  the  Mohammedan,  what  our  age  is 
rapidly  learning,  viz.,  that  Christianity  is  not  a  creed, 
not  a  cultus,  not  a  polity,  but  a  life,  and  life  entire ; 
that  Christian  principle,  nay  that  Christ  Himself  rules 
in  society,  in  business,  in  national  and  international 
relations  and  affairs  ;  that  Christianity  and  Christians 


l68       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

lov©  justice  and  sincerity  and  purity  ;  and  hate  in- 
justice, hypocrisy  and  impurity,  love  truth  and  hate 
falsehood,  love  modesty  and  humility  and  hate  all  sham 
and  pretense. 

Are  we  unbelieving  enough  to  doubt  that  in  time,  in 
measurable  time,  the  one  wondrous  life  that  has  been 
lived  on  our  planet,  that  life  from  which  all  Christian 
life  that  is  truly  Christian,  draws  its  vital  nourishment, 
will  through  Christian  life  and  example,  permeate  and 
leaven  human  life  in  all  lands  and  in  all  races,  the 
whole  world  over  ? 

To  live  Christ  is  the  one  and  only  way  to  solve  the 
problem  of  saving  and  blessing  men  of  all  creeds,  all 
races,  all  languages,  because  for  all  men  Christ  lived 
and  died  and  liveth  forevermore. 

After  the  reading  of  Dr.  Herrick's  paper  the  follow- 
ing personal  testimony  was  given  by  Johannes  Awe- 
taranian,  a  convert  from  Islam  : 

After  two  years'  study  of  the  gospel  I,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  came  to  know  my  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  For 
three  years  I  was  persecuted  by  my  relations  and  my 
nation,  the  Turkish.  Next  to  God  I  thank  the  Amer- 
ican missionaries,  Mr.  W.  and  E.  Chambers  at  Erze- 
rum,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wilson  at  Tabriz,  for  having 
during  this  time  procured  a  refuge  for  me.  After 
having  been  baptized  at  Tiflis,  the  Swedish  mission- 
ary, Mr.  Hoyer,  brought  me  to  Sweden  where  I  studied 
in  the  *' Missionsskolan  "  at  Kristinehamn.  In  1887 
I  was  sent  abroad  as  a  missionaiy. 

For  three  years  I  worked  in  Caucasia  amongst  Mo- 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  169 

hammedans  and  Armeniaus  making  missionary  jour- 
neys. The  Lord  blessed  my  work.  One  Mohammedan 
was  baptized,  and  many  others  heard  the  gospel.  In 
1892  I  was  sent  to  Western  China,  to  Kashgar.  I 
found  there  two  nominal  Christians,  one  of  them  was 
the  Eussian  Consul,  and  the  other  a  political  agent 
from  England,  both  of  whom  were  living  outside  the 
town  of  Kashgar.  These  two  nominal  Christians  dis- 
couraged my  companion,  Mr.  Hoyer,  by  telling  him 
that  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  begin  a  mission 
in  Kashgar  as  the  Mohammedans  were  more  fanatic 
there  than  anywhere  else.  He  turned  back.  I  my- 
self, however,  stayed  confiding  in  the  protection  of 
God.  I  took  a  room  in  the  bazaar  where  I  exhibited 
the  different  books  I  had  brought  with  me,  Arabic, 
Persian  and  Chinese  Scriptures.  I  put  on  the  Kash- 
garian  dress.  Mohammedans  of  all  classes  of  the 
population  came  to  call  upon  me  in  order  to  ask  me 
who  I  was  and  why  I  had  come  to  Kashgar.  My  an- 
swer was  almost  always  as  follows  :  You  are  Mo- 
hammedans, and  in  your  Koran  it  is  written  that  God 
sent  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  in  order  to  lead 
mankind  to  truth.  I  have  brought  these  books  here, 
and  if  anybody  is  willing  to  hear  what  is  written  in 
them,  I  am  going  to  read  it  to  you.  They  were  will- 
ing to  listen  and  when  I  had  read  the  fifth  chapter  of 
Matthew  they  said  to  me  :  "  That  is  the  word  of  God  ; 
a  man  could  not  have  spoken  in  this  way.  Let  us 
hear  more  about  it." 

So  I  went  on  reading.     The  educated  Kashgarians 
know  Persian,  but  as  to  Kashgarian,  no  part  of  the 


lyo       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Scriptures  had  ever  been  translated  into  that  language. 
Therefore  after  having  learned  it  myself,  I  began  to 
translate  the  gospel  by  the  help  of  a  moUah.  By  and 
by  another  mollah,  Maza-Achund,  the  minister  of  the 
late  King  of  Kashgar,  as  well  as  Fushang  Daloj  the 
dragoman  of  the  Chinese  Taotai,  became  my  friends, 
and  it  was  by  these  two  persons  that  I  got  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  educated  Mohammedans  as  well  as  the 
Begs,  the  princes  of  Kashgar.  After  having  trans- 
lated one  or  two  chapters  of  the  gospel,  I  went  to  sec 
those  who  always  received  me  kindly.  I  talked  to 
them,  and  whenever  there  was  an  opportunity,  I  read 
to  them  what  I  had  written  asking  them  to  tell  me 
what  mistakes  they  found  in  my  work.  Very  often 
they  were  astonished  at  the  sublime  contents,  whereas 
they  did  not  pay  so  much  attention  to  the  mistakes. 
It  may  be  that  they  could  find  none,  for  I  had  asked 
them  repeatedly  to  correct  me. 

In  this  way  I  read  the  whole  New  Testament  to 
them  ;  but  I  was  not  yet  satisfied  with  my  work.  I 
wished  to  know  if  the  illiterate  Kashgarians  too  would 
be  able  to  understand  the  translation.  So  I  read  it  to 
them  and  received  the  same  satisfactory  answer.  One 
young  man  became  a  believer  and  asked  me  to  baptize 
him  ;  I  refused  to  do  so  saying  that  he  would  be  perse- 
cuted, perhaps  even  killed,  by  the  Mohammedans, 
and  I  should  not  be  able  to  protect  him.  But  as  he 
was  not  at  all  afraid,  I  baptized  him.  Then  the  mollalis 
began  to  persecute  and  threaten  him,  but  when  they 
saw  his  courage,  they  left  him  alone. 

For  five  years  I  continued  to  labour  at  Kashgar, 


How  to  Win  Moslem  Races  171 

Farkend,  Hauarik,  Terim,  Maralbashi  and  Yengi 
Hissar.  Then  I  came  to  Europe  with  the  complete 
translation  of  the  l^ew  Testament.  The  four  Gospels 
were  printed  in  Berlin  at  the  expense  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  I  sent  them  to  my  suc- 
cessors in  Kashgar.  Since  however  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  repeatedly  put  off  the  printing 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  I  myself 
could  not  go  back  to  Kashgar.  While  I  was  staying 
in  Germany,  God  gave  me  a  fellow  worker  in  my  wife, 
and  I  entered  the  Deutsche  Orient  Mission. 

These  last  six  years  I  have  been  working  in  Bul- 
garia. "VVe  have  got  a  little  printing-press  and  till 
now  have  issued  three  numbers  of  the  Shahid  ul  Haga- 
jig,  a  magazine  for  educated  Mohammedans,  as  well 
as  two  little  tracts  for  the  illiterate  population.  Bun- 
yan's  Filgrim^s  Progress,  too,  has  been  translated  into 
Turkish  and  printed  in  2,000  copies,  moreover  three 
brochures  and  two  books  in  the  Armenian  language, 
one  in  Kashgarian  and  one  in  Persian.  These  latter 
books  have,  though  not  a  direct,  still  an  indirect  mis- 
sionary value. 

Our  mission-house  in  Schumla  has  been  a  refuge  for 
persecuted  believers  from  Islam.  Nine  of  them  have 
come,  though  some  stayed  only  for  a  time.  One 
young  Mohammedan  from  Persia  has  become  con- 
verted, was  baptized  in  our  house,  and  is  now  studying 
in  Berlin.  Another  young  Mohammedan,  who  had 
been  baptized  at  Tabriz,  is  now  being  taught  by  us. 
Four  Armenian  orphans,  two  boys  and  two  girls,  have 
also  been  educated  in  our  house,  and  just  now  a  little 


172        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Mohammedan  girl  is  taught  to  read.  Four  times  a 
week  I  preach  the  gospel  in  the  Turkish  language. 
We  have  a  bookstore  and  employ  two  colporteurs,  one 
in  Bulgaria  and  one  abroad.  Our  fellow- workers  are 
Fraulein  Gertrud  Mierendorff  at  Schumla  and  Pastor 
Krikor  Keworkian,  who  preaches  the  gospel  at  Eust- 
schuk. 

This  year  we  hope  to  begin  with  the  printing  of  the 
New  Testament  in  the  Kashgarian  language. 


XI 

PRESENTATION  OF  CHRISTIAN  DOCTRINE 

Rev.  W,  Hoopee,  D.D.,  C.  M.  S,,  Allahabad,  India 
Two  preliminary  observations  are  necessary.  (1)  I 
can  claim  no  right  to  be  heard  on  this  subject,  except 
the  very  general  one  of  interest  in  it.  I  have  never 
given  my  attention  particularly  to  work  among  Mo- 
hammedans, and  hardly  know  more  on  what  is  called 
the  Mohammedan  controversy  than  what  every  North 
Indian  missionary  is  compelled  to  know,  if  he  is  to  do 
his  perfectly  obvious  duty  to  the  people  around  him. 
Hence  I  must  beg  that  what  follows  may  not  be  re- 
ceived critically,  and  that  all  notion  of  my  speaking 
with  authority  may  be  absent  from  the  minds  of  those 
who  hear  this  paper.  (2)  The  subject  was  allotted  to 
Dr.  Griswold  of  Lahore  as  well  as  myself.  But  he  has 
definitely  declined  to  take  part  in  it,  and  so  the  whole 
has  fallen  to  me.  This  fact  will  still  further  decrease 
the  value  of  this  paper,  and  I  can  only  throw  myself 
on  the  forbearance  of  the  hearers  of  it. 

I.  "While  there  is  the  great  advantage,  in  dealing 
with  Moslems,  that  according  to  their  own  judgment 
we  are  as  truly  ^^Ahl-i-Kitab"  as  they,  and  that  they 
expect  us  to  substantiate  all  our  beliefs  by  quotation 
from  books  which  they,  as  well  as  ourselves,  regard  as 
inspired,  even  though  in  their  eyes  both  corrupted  and 
abrogated, — in  other  words  to  use  ^'naqli "  rather  than 

173 


174       Mission  Work.  Among  Moslems 

''  'aqli  "  argumentation — at  the  same  time  I  have  never 
been  able  to  feel  this  such  a  great  advantage  as  many 
of  my  brethren  do,  or  to  go  to  the  bazaar,  as  dear 
Bishop  French  used  to  do,  armed  with  the  Scriptures 
in  the  original,  and  with  the  Hindustani  Bible  in  two 
or  three  bulky  volumes.  And  that  because  the  Mos- 
lem idea  of  inspiration  is,  as  I  take  it,  essentially  and 
radically  different  from  our  own.  As  I  have  often  said 
where  I  was  sure  it  would  not  offend,  the  only  instance 
in  our  Scriptures  of  inspiration  such  as  Moslems  con- 
ceive it  is  that  of  Balaam's  ass,  and  the  next  nearest 
approach  to  it  is  in  the  case  of  Balaam  himself.  Hold- 
ing, as  I  do,  that  while  the  very  words  of  Scripture 
have  been  in  varying  degrees  (perhaps  most  in  St. 
John's  Gospel)  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself, 
yet  inspiration  consists  essentially  in  the  illumination 
of  the  speaker's  or  writer's  mind  and  not  in  the  words 
in  which  that  illumination  is  expressed,  I  am  undis- 
turbed by  the  real  or  apparent  contradictions  to  be 
found  in  different  parts  of  Scripture,  and  am  not 
much  interested  in  the  question  whether  each  of  them 
is  real  or  only  supposed ;  much  less  am  I  under  any 
obligation  to  twist  the  natural  meaning  of  a  passage  in 
order  to  escape  a  contradiction.  But  all  this  is  anath- 
ema to  the  Moslem.  He  cannot  understand  its  com- 
patibility with  inspiration  at  all.  Therefore,  while 
urging  to  the  utmost  the  circulation  of  our  Holy  Scrij)- 
tures  among  Moslems,  and  delighted  to  find  them 
studying  them,  I  dare  not  commence  my  presentation 
of  Christian  truth  to  them  by  insisting  on  the  inspira- 
tion of  our  Bible,  because  they  would  start  with  a 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       175 

totally  wrong  idea  of  what  we  meant  by  inspiration, 
and  because  any  attempt  of  mine  to  give  them  the  right 
idea  of  it  would  only  bewilder  and  repel  them.  I 
would  rather  trust  to  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself  illumi- 
nating their  minds,  little  by  little,  through  the  study 
of  His  Word,  and  so  eventually  bringing  them,  through 
belief  of  the  great  truths  to  be  found,  in  their  original 
form,  only  in  the  Bible,  round  at  last  to  the  correct 
view  of  inspiration. 

II.  I  think  we  ought  to  take  every  opportunity  of 
dwelling,  in  dealing  with  Moslems,  on  our  cordial 
agreement  with  them  in  belief  in  the  unity  and  per- 
sonality of  God ;  and  of  showing  them  that  the  first 
part  of  their  Kalima  expresses  the  fundamental  tenet 
of  our  religion  quite  as  truly  as  it  does  of  theirs.  I 
often  think  we  ought  to  do  more  than  we  do  towards 
disarming  their  opposition  by  enlisting  them  on  our 
side  in  the  conflict,  not  only  with  open  idolatry  and 
polytheism,  but  also  with  that  far  more  subtle  Panthe- 
ism which,  in  varying  degrees,  seems  to  me  to  be  creep- 
ing over  modern  thought,  and  which  is  certainly  the 
outcome,  in  many  cases  at  least  of  the  Neo- Islam  taught 
at  Aligarh.  In  this  connection  I  may  add  that  I  wish 
missionaries  in  other  than  Arabic-speaking  countries 
would  more  regularly  speak  of  God  as  "  Allah." 

III.  As  regards  the  relation  to  the  One,  Personal 
God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  was  lately  startled, 
not  to  say  shocked,  to  find  from  a  public  utterance  of 
a  well-known  and  justly-esteemed  Bengal  missionary, 
that  he  holds  that  while  we  may  well  call  our  Lord 
"the  "Word  of  God,"  because  He  is  so  called  in  the 


176        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Quran,  yet  we  should  not  call  Him  "the  Son  of  God," 
except  in  reference  to  His  birth  of  a  virgin,  according 
to  Luke  1 :  35.  Now,  while  we  might  make  more  use 
than  most  of  us  do  of  the  fact  that  the  Quran  acknowl- 
edges our  Lord  to  be  Kalimatullah,  and  though  we 
may  well  bring  forward  Luke  1 :  35  as  proof  that  Mos- 
lems have  no  right  to  object  to  the  expression  "  Son  of 
God,"  seeing  that  they  believe,  with  us,  in  the  virgin- 
birth — though  this  will  not  carry  us  far  with  them,  for, 
as  I  remember  a  Moslem  retorting,  when  I  used  that 
argument,  that  in  that  way  Adam  had  as  much  right 
to  be  called  a  Son  of  God  as  Christ  had,  as  indeed 
Adam  is  called  in  Luke  3  :  38  ;  yet  I  cannot  for  a  mo- 
ment admit  that  we  are  not  bound,  when  the  occasion 
demands  it,  to  insist  on  our  Lord's  being  the  Son  of 
God  in  a  far  higher,  indeed  an  eternal,  sense.  For 
three  verses  in  the  whole  New  Testament  in  which  He 
is  called  "  the  Word,"  how  many  thousands  there  are 
in  which  He  is  called  "the  Son  "  ;  so  that  if  we  keep 
the  latter  title  in  the  background  for  fear  of  offending, 
yet  the  very  New  Testament  which  we  urge  the  Mos- 
lem to  read  will  bring  that  stumbling-block  in  his  way 
in  its  every  page.  And  though  we  may  admit  that  the 
title  was  given  by  our  Lord's  first  followers  without 
any  definite  thought  of  eternal  Sonship,  but  only  be- 
cause the  Old  Testament  clearly  gave  it  to  the  prom- 
ised Messiah,  yet  it  was  unavoidable  that  a  deeper 
study  of  those  very  Old  Testament  passages  should 
gradually  lead  those  followers  to  the  eternity  of  the 
Sonship  ;  so  that,  e.  g.,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
the  title  "  the  Son  "  seems  everywhere  to  connote  true 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       177 

and  proper  Deity,  and  therefore  eternity.  Therefore  I 
say  that,  if  by  way  of  oikonomia  we  abstain  from  call- 
ing our  Lord  the  Son  of  God  in  dealing  with  Moslems, 
the  New  Testament  itself  will  soon  press  it  upon  them, 
if  they  become  the  diligent  students  of  it  which  we  de- 
sire. And,  indeed,  the  insisting  on  the  eternity  of  the 
Sonship  has  a  positive  and  great  advantage  in  dealing 
with  Moslems.  While,  to  their  carnal  notions,  our 
dwelling  on  the  virgin-birth  as  the  reason  for  Christ's 
being  called  the  Son  of  God  may  well  seem  to  them  to 
encourage  their  parody  of  the  Trinity  by  representing 
God  as  the  Father  of  Jesus  in  the  same  sense  as  Mary 
was  His  mother  ;  on  the  other  hand  the  doctrine  of  the 
Eternal  Sonship  at  once  lifts  the  whole  subject  out  of 
the  region  of  possible  carnality,  and  shows  that  Chris- 
tians mean  by  the  Sonship  of  Christ  something  to  which 
ordinary  Moslem  objections  do  not  apply. 

At  the  same  time,  I  have  often  thought  that  we  do 
not  make  as  much  use  as  we  ought  of  that  representa- 
tion, so  thoroughly  scriptural,  and  specially  frequent  in 
the  theologically  profoundest  book  of  the  Bible,  of  our 
Lord  as  the  sent  one  of  the  father,  the  Easul, 
in  fact,  of  God  ;  an  idea,  as  we  all  know,  which  Islam 
makes  delightfully  much  of,  only  it  applies  it  to  him 
who,  intentionally  or  unintentionally,  did  his  utmost 
to  nullify  the  Easalat  of  God's  own  Rasiil.  Only  we 
must  show  that  the  sending  of  Christ  differs  essentially 
from  that  of  all  other  Easiils,  in  that  while  they  were 
sent,  on  earth,  to  a  particular  people  or  to  do  a  par- 
ticular work.  He  is  the  One  "  whom  the  Father  sancti- 
fied, and  sent  into  the  world." 


178        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

As  to  the  forms  iu  which  we  should  present  our 
Lord's  personal   and  ofi&cial   names,  I  feel   strongly 

(1)  that  we  should  never  call  Him  '"Isa,"  unless  our 
hearers  would  not  otherwise  know  whom  we  were  talk- 
ing about,  because  this  topsy-turvy  form  of  the  name 
is  an  unintentional  insult  to  its  wearer,  and  entirely 
prevents  our  showing  the  meaning  of  the  name ;  and 

(2)  that  we  should  show  that  ''  Masih  "  is  not  a  part  of 
our  Lord's  personal  name,  but  an  official  title  whose 
history  is  full  of  instruction.  This,  which  would  be 
intelligible  to  every  intelligent  Moslem,  would  also 
pave  the  way  in  his  mind  for  higher  thoughts  of  our 
Lord. 

IV.  As  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the 
Bengal  missionary  above  alluded  to  (1)  dwells  on  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  explicit  statement  of  it  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  (2)  deprecates  the  use  of  the  word 
''  Person"  iu  connection  with  it.  He  also  (3) opposes 
the  use  of  the  argument,  as  old  as  Kaymund  Lull,  de- 
duced from  the  truth  that  ''God  is  love."  With 
regard  to  the  first  of  these  points,  I  think  we  may  quite 
agree  not  to  begin  by  thrusting  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  as  it  were,  down  a  Moslem's  throat,  or  setting 
it,  in  its  full-blown  form  as  elaborated  by  the  Chuich, 
before  him  as  an  obstacle  which  he  must  somehow  sur- 
mount before  he  continues  his  inquiry  into  the  Truth. 
But,  all  the  same,  the  New  Testament  is  full  of  pas- 
sages which  cannot  really  be  explained  except  by  the 
Church  doctrine  ;  and  it  would  be  unfair  and  unkind 
to  our  inquiring  friend  to  withhold  from  him  the 
teaching  on  the  subject  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  led 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       179 

the  Church,  in  the  first  centuries,  into  clear  and  con- 
sistent belief  of  it.     Yet  the  Trinity  should  not  be 
urged  on  his  acceptance  as  a  Chui-ch  doctrine,  but  only 
as  an  explicit  statement  of  what  is  implicitly  contained 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  without  which  the  latter 
cannot  be  consistently  received.     With  regard  to  the 
second  point,  I  do  not  know  that  we  are  in  any  danger, 
in  dealing  with  Moslems  except  through  the  medium 
of  European  languages,  of  confusing  their  minds  by 
the  use  of  the  word  "  Person  "  at  aU.     I  have  always 
regarded  it  as  a  most  fortunate  thing,  that  the  Arabic 
word  "aqnum"  is  wholly  innocent  (at  least  so  I  have 
been  assured,  for  I  do  not  know  Arabic)  of  any  such 
denotation  or  connotation  as  the  word  "Person"  un- 
fortunately has.     Thirdly,  I  fully  agree  that  the  argu- 
ment for  the  Trinity  from  the  statemeut  that  "God  is 
love"  is  not  one  which  appeals  to  Moslems  at  all,  and 
therefore  should  not  be  employed  with  them.     From 
the  Christian  point  of  view,  the  argument  alluded  to 
is  a  perfectly  sound  one.     It  is,  that  God  not  only 
loves,  but  is  love  ;  in  other  words.  Love  is  essential  to 
His  nature,  in  a  way  that  mercy,  justice,  etc.,  etc.,  aro 
not.     And  therefore,  while  the  fact  that  God  is  merci- 
ful and  just  is  no  proof  that  He  must  have  from  all 
eternity  had  objects  on  and  with  whom  to  show  mercy 
and  justice,  yet  the  fact  that  He  is  love  is  a  proof  that 
He  must  have  had  an  object,  or  objects,  to  love  from 
all  eternity,  and  therefore  cannot  be  a  bare  Unity.    But 
this  argument  falls  flat  on  those  who  do  not  know 
what  love  is.     And  no  one  knows  what  love  is,  till 
he  has  "known  and  believed  the  love  that  God  hath 


l8o        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

to  us."  "We  love" — uot  God  only,  but  at  all — "be- 
cause He  first  loved  us. "  "  Hereby  perceive  we  love, 
in  that  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us."  Kow  of  ail 
this,  of  course,  the  Moslem  knows  nothing.  And  this 
was  just  Eaymuud  Lull's  mistake  in  urging  this  proof 
with  him. 

As  to  the  proper  word  for  the  Trinity,  there  are  as 
far  as  I  know  two  words,  Saliis  and  Taslis  (Thaliith 
and  Tathlith).  Until  the  last  few  years,  in  India  the 
latter  was  exclusively  used.  In  Arabic-speaking  coun- 
tries, if  I  am  rightly  informed,  the  former  is  stiU  ex- 
clusively used.  May  I  suggest  that  the  usage  lately 
adopted  in  India  is  the  right  one,  and  ought  to  be  uni- 
versal I  The  word  "Trinity  "  has  two  different  mean- 
ings, viz.,  God  Himself  conceived  as  existing  in  three 
Aqanim,  and  the  conception  itself  that  He  does  so 
exist.  For  the  former  meaning  Salus,  "the Triad,"  is 
obviously  the  right  word  ;  for  the  latter,  it  seems  to  me 
as  clear  that  the  word  is  Taslis.  In  other  words,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  Taslis ;  the  Trinity  as  the 
object  of  our  worship  is  Salus. 

V.  A  few  words  will  suffice  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement.  I  suppose  there  can  be  no  question  that, 
if  our  object  is  not  to  make  a  Moslem  merely  intellectu- 
ally convinced  of  Christianity,  but  also  a  true  Chris- 
tian, we  must  as  far  as  possible  approach  the  truths 
we  have  hitherto  been  considering  through  what  has 
been  well  called  "the  Love  of  the  Atonement"  ;  as- 
sured that,  when  once  the  heart  is  "  constrained  by  the 
love  of  Christ,"  the  mind  will  not  be  very  loug  in  ac- 
cepting whatever  is  seen  to  be  the  teaching  of  the 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       181 

Eedeemer,  the  new  and  blessed  object  of  the  inquirer's 
affections.  And  in  connection  with  this,  and  as  a 
means  of  disarming  that  opposition  of  the  mind  which 
will  prevent  the  heart  from  acting  as  it  otherwise 
would,  I  have  often,  at  first,  spoken  of  the  Atonement, 
in  thoroughly  scriptural  wise,  as  a  sacrifice  offered  by 
God's  great  Servant  and  Messenger,  in  obedience  to 
His  command,  for  the  sins  of  other  men.  And  this 
representation  may  suffice — though  I  cannot  say  I 
know  an  instance  in  which  it  has  sufficed — for  intro- 
ducing into  the  heart  that  arrow  of  God's  love,  there 
to  rankle  until  the  soul  bows  down  before  it,  and  gives 
itself  up  to  it.  But,  as  soon  as  the  mind  begins  to  work 
upon  such  a  representation,  it  is  inevitable  that  diffi- 
culties will  occur,  insuperable  except  on  the  accept- 
ance of  the  true  and  proper  Deity  of  Christ,  and  in 
fact  all  that  we  mean  by  the  Trinity. 

VI.  In  conclusion,  I  would  just  say  two  things. 
(1)  Though  Islam  is  a  historical  religion,  and  therefore 
we  have  common  ground  in  arguing  with  Moslems,  yet, 
as  I  have  already  implied,  the  heart  and  the  conscience 
are  not  only  the  best  means  of  approach  to  them,  but 
without  these  the  approach  through  the  intellect  is 
useless.  (2)  I  know  no  better  advice  to  give  a  Moslem 
inquirer  than  this :  Eead  the  whole  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  and  then  the  Quran  right  through,  in 
strict  order  as  they  stand,  thoughtfully  and  above  all 
prayerfully.  When  the  mind  and  heart  have  been 
gradually  penetrated  with  the  divine  revelation  grad- 
ually unfolded  in  the  first  two  of  these  volumes,  they 
will  at  once,  on  opening  the  third,  revolt  from  the  ut- 


i82        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

ter  tanazzul  manifest  throughout  it,  and  exclaim  :  ' '  The 
old  is  better !" 


Rev.  S.  G.  Wilson,  Tabriz,  Persia. 

In  presenting  Christian  doctrines  to  Moslems,  an  im- 
portant prerequisite  is  to  know  the  mental  attitude  of 
the  individual  or  group  to  be  addressed.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  necessary  to  learn  when  possible  the  sect  to 
which  they  belong.  This  is  certainly  true  in  Persia, 
in  which  Shiahism — a  sect  itself,  is  honeycombed  with 
sects  which  form  so  considerable  a  proportion  of  the 
whole  number.  In  various  points  their  peculiar  tenets 
arc  akin  to  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity  and 
the  recognition  of  their  position  gives  the  missionary  a 
common  basis  on  which  to  begin. 

(1)  This  is  true  regarding  the  doctrine  of  divine  in- 
carnation. Many  sheikhs  have  no  repugnance  to  the 
idea  of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  of  God  incarnate  in 
man.  There  seems  to  be  even  a  positive  tendency  to 
develop  and  hold  such  a  doctrine.  (I  presented  this 
subject  before  the  Congress  of  Sciences  and  Arts  at  the 
St.  Louis  Exposition  and  can  now  simply  call  attention 
to  it.) 

Take,  for  instance,  the  sheikhs.  Their  founder, 
Sheikh  Ahmad  of  Ahsa,  exalted  the  twelve  Imams  to  al- 
most divine  rank.  In  each  Imam  an  attribute  of  God 
was  incarnated.  One  was  the  "  Will  of  God,"  another 
the  "Power  of  God."  (The  Light  of  God  is  their  super- 
natural endowment.  Imam  Ali  is  mighty  in  power. 
It  is  his  voice  that  is  heard  in  the  thunder's  peal,  his 
sword's  gleam  in  the  lightning's  flash.)    In  the  Hyat- 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       183 

ul-Qalab,  the  excellency  of  the  Imams  is  expressed  in 
words  which  equal  and  even  surpass  those  used  of 
Christ  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  So  highly  do 
they  exalt  the  Imams,  that  their  opponents  accuse  them 
of  holding  to  fourteen  persons  in  the  Godhead  in  place 
of  the  Trinity  of  the  Christians.  (At  the  same  time 
they  hold,  as  a  Mujtahid  said  to  me,  that  the  attributes 
of  God  cannot  be  separated  from  His  essence,  admit- 
ting, what  he  was  unwilling  to  express  in  words,  that 
the  Imams  are  divine.) 

Or  take  another  example,  namely,  the  Ali  AUahis, 
who  number  500,000  in  Persia  under  various  names. 
They  hold  that  Imam  Ali  was  God— a  manifestation 
of  Deity,  the  author  of  Life  and  Death,  worthy  of  wor- 
ship and  entire  devotion.  But  he  was  only  one  mani- 
festation. (Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  David,  Jesus,  each 
in  his  time,  was  God  in  the  flesh. )  A  divine  incarna- 
tion may  be  expected  at  any  time, — born  of  woman. 
One  sect  of  them  believes  that  he  is  already  on  the 
earth,  is  manifested  to  his  followers  and  will  make  him- 
self known  in  power  to  all  the  world  inside  of  three 
years.  One  of  his  priests  encouraged  his  deluded  fol- 
lowers in  vain  to  resist  the  Shah's  orders,  a  few  years 
ago,  in  the  belief  that  they  would  be  invulnerable  to 
the  royal  artillery.  The  name  of  this  incarnation  was 
Sayid  Mohammed  Hussain,  a  poor  and  humble  vil- 
lager. Once  he  made  an  appointment  to  visit  me  in 
Tabriz.  My  samovar  is  steaming  with  tea  according 
to  Persian  custom,  but  he  failed  to  keep  his  appoint- 
ment. He  fled  at  night  because  the  governor-general 
wished  to  seize  him.     This  incarnation,  who  died  this 


184        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

year,  was  said  by  his  followers  to  conceal  his  divinity 
so  perfectly  that  no  one  would  suspect  its  presence. 

One  might  mention  further  Qadir  Agha,  an  incarna- 
tion of  God  who  lives  at  Maragha,  northwest  Persia, 
and  has  a  large  following  from  among  the  Shiahs  or 
the  leaders  of  the  Zahahis  who  declare  themselves  to 
be  personal  habitations  of  the  divine  Holy  Spirit,  but 
not  to  be  tedious,  the  history  of  Babism  shows  the  same 
tendency  among  Shiahs.  After  the  Bab  was  put  to 
death  in  Tabriz  there  was  what  Professor  Browne  of 
Cambridge,  the  special  interpreter  of  Babism,  is  led  to 
call  "a  chaos  of  Incarnations."  It  is  a  familiar  fact 
that  the  followers  of  the  late  Baha  Ullah  regarded  him 
as  true  God  and  worshipped  no  other.  My  Mirza, 
who  belongs  to  this  sect,  declares  that  he  was  very  God 
of  very  God,  the  Father,  superior  to  Jesus  who  was 
only  the  Son. 

Time  will  not  permit  us  to  inquire,  whence  comes 
this  tendency  among  Shiah  Moslems  to  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  Divine  incarnations.  It  is  certainly  not  due 
to  Sufism,  for  this  doctrine  is  clearly  distinct  from  the 
Pantheism  of  the  Sufis,  whose  Persian  devotees,  whether 
dervishes,  philosophers  or  poets,  have  for  the  most  part 
no  sympathy  with  these  sects.  Eather  it  seems  to  have 
its  root  far  back  in  Persian  life-story — in  a  tendency 
of  the  Persian  mind.  It  is  an  expression  of  their  re- 
ligious consciousness.  The  ancient  Persians  were  ac- 
customed to  regard  their  kings  as  divine.  In  the  early 
days  of  Islam,  a  Persian  sect  refused  to  acknowledge 
the  supremacy  of  a  Khalif,  because  he  declined  to  re- 
ceive divine  titles  and  worship.     The  assassins,  Is- 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       185 

mielians,  and  followers  of  the  veiled  prophet  of  Khor- 
assan,  looked  upon  their  leaders  as  God.  The  Fatimite 
and  Druse  sects  whose  Khalifs  were  regarded  as  God, 
were  the  offspring  of  Persian  thought  and  Shiah  in- 
fluence. From  the  first  the  rigid  Unitarianisni  of  Is- 
lam has  been  opposed  by  the  tendency  of  the  Persian 
consciousness  to  desire  a  God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
The  Persian  mind  seems  to  be  groping,  if  haply  it  may 
find  the  God-man.  Hence  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pre- 
senting boldly  to  Persians,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
divine  incarnate  Saviour. 

I  would  not  begin  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
but  let  that  develop  in  the  inquirer's  mind  as  a  sequence 
to  his  acceptance  of  Christ  as  God  incarnate  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  a  divine  personality,  the  Guide  for  every 
age,  coupled  as  these  truths  will  be  with  that  of  the 
divine  unity.  This  was  the  sequence  in  the  primitive 
Church  and  will  be  so  now. 

(2)  In  presenting  the  second  doctrine  mentioned  in 
the  printed  topics,  namely  the  atonement,  to  Shiahs, 
we  are  met  by  a  condition  of  belief  in  them  which 
greatly  facilitates  the  task.  On  the  one  hand  it  is  an 
accepted  fact  that  Mohammed  rejected  the  doctrine  of 
sacrificial  atonement  from  his  system.  (Of  sacrifices 
he  says,  "Their  flesh  is  not  accepted  of  God,  neither 
their  blood,  but  your  piety  is  accepted  of  Him."  The 
terms  kafara  and  fidyah  are  used  with  the  meaning  of 
expiation  for  sins,  but  never  with  reference  to  the  shed- 
ding of  blood  in  sacrifice.) 

Among  the  Shiahs,  on  the  contrary,  the  idea  of 
atonement  has  gained  a  place.     When  we  are  setting 


i86       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

forth  the  story  of  the  cross  to  Persians,  they  often  re- 
ply, "In  like  manner  the  blood  of  Imam  Hussain 
avails  for  us  as  an  offering  to  God."  Sometimes,  too, 
they  bring  out  the  idea  that  Christ's  death  was  but  of 
one,  whereas  Hussain  and  his  retinue  of  the  holy  seed 
of  the  prophet  all  shed  their  blood  for  the  salvation  of 
their  people.  Extending  the  doctrine  still  wider,  the 
sufferings  and  deaths  of  the  Imams  Ali,  Hassan  and 
others  are  made  to  have  expiatory  efficacy.  This 
comes  out  emphatically  in  the  Passion  Play  of  Muhar- 
ram.  Its  dialogues  are  not  historical  nor  even  approxi- 
mately accurate  representations  of  events,  yet  they  may 
be  relied  upon  as  setting  forth  the  doctrinal  beliefs  of 
the  Shiahs  at  the  present  day.  Pelly's  translation  of 
the  Passion  Play  shows  in  scores  of  passages  their  ad- 
herence to  a  vicarious  atonement  by  the  Imams. 

The  condition  of  belief  prepares  them  to  hear  and 
understand  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  atonement. 
It  can  be  presented  to  them  as  to  a  Christian  audience. 

Discussion 

Mr.  Gairdner  asked : 

1.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  constitution  of  the  Koran, 
the  traditions  concerning  its  delivery,  and  the  process 
of  its  transmission,  are  toto  caelo  different  from  those  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  I^ew  Testament,  and  therefore 
must  yield  a  totally  different  idea  of  inspiration  ? 

2.  Is  it  not  a  fact  therefore  that  any  attempt  to 
square  the  inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
to  the  ideas  current  among  Moslems,  must  end  in  dis 
comfiture  ? 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       187 

3.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  Christians  (Orientals)  do  as  a 
matter  of  fact  thus  try  to  square  the  two,  and  the 
cause  of  truth  is  thereby  very  seriously  endangered  1 

4.  Is  not  this  because  Mohammedans  have  a  clearly 
thought-out  idea  and  some  Christians  have  not  ? 

5.  Has  not  the  time  come  to  get  to  a  clear  mutual 
understanding  in  the  matter,  simply  taking  into  ac- 
count clear  undoubted  facts  ? 

Mr.  Thornton  said  he  wished  to  emphasize  some  of 
these  points,  not  with  a  view  to  unsettling  his  audience 
and  appearing  to  join  the  campaign  of  criticism,  but 
because  we  must  have  some  constructive  ideas  on  which 
to  work. 

In  conversation  with  Professor  Margoliouth  last  year 
the  professor  said, 

Do  not  attempt  to  put  the  Bible  (New  Testament)  on 
the  same  footing  as  the  Koran  with  regard  to  inspira- 
tion. It  corresponds  more  to  the  Hadith,  i.  e.,  the 
Gospels  are  reports  of  eye-witnesses,  not  verbatim  re- 
ports of  the  conversations  of  Christ  with  the  Father, 
except  in  the  two  prayers  of  John  17:2.  All  others 
are  reported,  and  do  not  correspond  with  Mohammed's 
statements  which  resemble  more  closely  those  of  the 
Old  Testament,— "  God  said,"  "God  spake."  If  we 
admit  this  we  put  them  on  a  different  platform  of  as- 
sumption from  the  Koran. 

"We  are  able  to  come,  not  with  a  clear  cut  theory,  but 
to  say  ' '  Take  it  to  form  your  own  estimate  of  it  and 
God  the  Holy  Spirit  will  guide  you  into  all  truth." 

Mr.  Van  Velsen  (by  translation)  :  A  director  of  the 
Rhenish  Mission  said  to  me  some  time  ago  that  he 


l88        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

thought  the  Mohammedau  would  compel  us  to  revise 
our  historical  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Without  ad- 
mitting myself  such  a  statement  I  would  lay  stress 
upon  the  fact  in  dealing  with  the  differences  between 
ourselves  and  Islam,  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  set  of 
doctrines  to  be  received  as  a  living  Saviour.  Get  them 
to  accept  Christ  as  a  present  and  living  Saviour. 

Dr.  Herrick :  We  have  an  immense  advantage  over 
the  Mohammedan,  in  our  view  of  inspiration — the 
spiritual  is  above  the  mechanical  inspiration.  We 
stand  on  entirely  different  grounds.  We  do  not  ac- 
cept a  purely  verbal  inspiration.  No,  it  is  the  uplift 
of  the  human  soul  under  a  divine  spirit  and  power. 

If  the  man  sees  power  in  the  life  with  the  message, 
he  will  go  away  thoughtful. 

Our  course  is  plain  and  the  strength  of  our  position 
impregnable. 

Mr.  Zwemer  referred  to  a  book  by  Otto  Pautz  on 
the  Moslem  doctrine  of  inspiration  and  voiced  the  feel- 
ing of  this  conference,  "  no  compromise"  with  Islam. 
He  said  he  would  challenge  the  statement  in  Dr. 
Hooper's  paper  that  we  should  accept  the  Moslem  cry, 
**  There  is  no  God  but  God." 

If  the  Mohammedan  had  a  correct  doctrine  of  God 
he  would  accept  Christ.  If  in  Arabia  we  accepted  a 
different  statement  of  the  Trinity  the  Moslems  would 
flock  in,  but  the  battle  would  have  ultimately  to  be 
fought  over  again. 

It  is  better  to  make  the  Moslem  take  the  leap  over 
the  gulf  clear  into  evangelical  Christianity. 

l)r.  Wherry  called  attention  to  the   fact  that  the 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       189 

teaching  of  the  Quran  in  regard  to  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  Scriptures  (the  Taurdt  and  the  Injil)  is  not 
that  they  are  a  tradition  (Hadith),  but  that  they  are 
books  (Kitab),  and  that  for  this  reason  Jews  and 
Christians  are  called  Ahl  i  Kitab  or  People  of  the 
Books.  Unless  therefore  we  insist  upon  the  inspired 
character  of  the  Bible  and  our  own  position  as  People 
of  the  Book  we  have  no  standing  in  the  sight  of  Mos- 
lems whatever.  In  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  In- 
carnation, the  Divine  Sonship,  the  Holy  Trinity,  we 
should  present  them  as  mysteries  to  be  believed  upon 
the  authority  of  God's  word.  Inspiration  is  therefore 
fundamental.  If  we  cannot  offer  the  Bible  to  Moslems 
as  an  inspired  Book,  we  have  absolutely  no  standing 
among  them.  To  concede  that  the  New  Testament  is 
a  bundle  of  traditions  in  the  sense  of  the  Moslem 
Hadith  would  be  fatal.  It  would  give  away  the  whole 
position. 

Br.  Lepsius  said  he  had  had  much  to  do  with  mis- 
sions to  Moslems  in  the  East.  Our  modern  theology 
is  practically  a  new  Islam.  Inspiration  is  not  verbal 
but  dynamic.  The  strength  of  modern  critics  is  that 
they  use  the  verbal  contradiction  to  overthrow  the  his- 
torical facts. 

A  large  number  of  difiSculties  can  be  overthrown  by 
textual  criticism.  There  should  be  a  freer  view  of 
textual  criticism ;  it  enables  us  more  fully  to  confirm 
the  historical  accuracy  and  thus  arrive  at  a  better 
theory  of  inspiration.  We  are  redeemed  not  by  words, 
but  by  deeds.  The  salvation  offered  by  Islam  is  a  sal- 
yatjon  offered  through  the  words  of  the  Koran.     We 


190        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

are  redeemed  not  by  the  words  of  Scripture  but  by  the 
facts  of  redemption.  The  actions  of  God  need  the  ex- 
planation of  Scripture  through  the  words  of  Scripture. 
The  natural  man  does  not  understand  the  deeds  of 
God,  so  we  need  the  word  of  God  to  understand  the 
deeds  of  God. 

I  believe,  therefore,  the  way  to  understand  God  is  to 
recognize  the  action  of  God  in  redemption.  .  .  . 
The  way  to  understand  the  person  of  Christ  is  the  way 
of  the  Cross.  It  is  impossible  to  explain  redemption 
to  one  who  does  not  understand  Him. 

God's  divinity  is  analytical,  not  synthetical. 

Take  the  presence  of  Christ  as  He  really  is  and  how 
He  is  described  in  the  New  Testament,  and  eventually 
you  will  find  no  other  expression  to  describe  what  you 
have  arrived  at  than  "  He  is  God."  So  be  patient 
with  any  inferior  apprehension  of  Christ  for  the  time. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  up  our  own  concept  of 
Christ  in  favour  of  any  other.  "We  are  "  not  to  bring 
our  Moslem  brethren  to  a  true  concept  of  Christ  by 
letting  down  but  by  drawing  them  up"  by  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

Our  chief  work  is  to  vindicate  the  historical  facts  of 
the  Bible,  not  so  much  the  verbal  inspiration  to  Mos- 
lems. 

Mr.  Weitbrecht :  One  of  the  doctrines  in  which  Mo- 
hammed fell  far  below  the  Christian  mark  is  that  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Angel  Gabriel  is  the  messenger 
who  brings  down  the  Koran.  The  Holy  Spirit  draws 
men  up  to  the  true  idea  and  concept  of  God.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  intimately  connected  with  the  historical 


Presentation  of  Christian  Doctrine       191 

revelation.  It  is  He  who  prevented  also  the  accept- 
ance of  what  was  fundamentally  false  as  the  Word  of 
God.  We  can  show  that  the  Koran  does  not  contain 
the  pure  words  of  Mohammed  as  he  pronounced  them. 
As  a  principle  surely  we  must  deal  with  Moslems  as 
with  other  persons.  We  must  consider  their  psychol- 
ogy as  we  should  that  of  a  child.  Two  great  ideas  of 
the  Moslem  mind  are  God :  (1)  His  absolute  will.  (2) 
The  law  of  life  laid  down  for  men.  We  should  thus 
represent  them  : 

1.  The  law  of  God,  binding  on  the  conscience,  and 
sin  necessitating  forgiveness. 

2.  Holiness,  love  and  real  justice  of  God,  the  true 
conception  on  which  the  doctrines  of  redemption,  etc., 
are  based. 


xn 

CONTROVERSY  IN  ALL  ITS  BEARINGS 
Kev.  W.  a.  Shedd,  Urumia,   Peesia 

[The  attempt  has  been  made  in  preparing  this  paper  to  make  it 
comprehensive  and  suggestive  rather  than  thorough,  and  also  to 
avoid  topics  covered  in  other  subjects  mentioned  in  the  program. 
The  subject  is  taken  to  refer  primarily  to  oral  discussion  and  not 
to  controversial  literature.  ] 

I.    The  Dominant  Purpose 

Christianity  and  Islam,  with  greater  definiteness 
than  any  third  religion,  each  makes  the  claim  to  be  the 
sole,  universal,  and  final  religion.  Manifestly  their 
claims  are  contradictory,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
validity  of  the  claim  of  one  disproves  the  claim  of  the 
other.  It  is  not,  however,  true  either  in  logic  or  ex- 
perience that  the  disproof  of  one  proves  the  other. 
The  great  aim,  therefore,  in  controversy  should  be  to 
make  good  the  claims  of  Christianity,  and  not  to  refute 
the  claims  of  Islam.  Other  lines  of  discussion  are  use- 
ful in  proportion  to  the  extent  to  which  they  lead  up 
to  and  strengthen  the  proof  that  Christianity  is  the 
sole  and  suflicient  religion.  Much  in  the  fabric  of 
every  religion  crumbles  before  the  disintegrating  influ- 
ences of  time  and  change,  and  it  is  no  difficult  task  to 
find  flaws  in  the  body  of  superstition  and  tradition 
that  constitutes  popular  Islam.  It  is  a  far  more  difl&- 
cult  task  so  to  present  Christ  to  men  that  He  will 
draw  them  to  Himself.     Although  this  dominant  pur- 

192 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings         193 

pose  is  thus  in  a  sense  the  most  difficult,  it  is  often  the 
most  practicable.  The  way  is  often  open  for  a  free 
presentation  of  the  teachings  of  our  own  faith  where  it 
is  not  open  for  argument  against  the  belief  of  those 
with  whom  we  are  talking. 

11.  The  Burden  of  Proof 
It  is  clear  that  this  rests  upon  Islam,  since  on  its  own 
premises  it  makes  the  claim  either  to  supplement  or  to 
supersede  Christianity.  K  Islam  supplements  Chris- 
tianity, it  must  contain  new  truths  not  found  in  the 
Bible  and  its  teachings  must  be  harmonious  with  those 
of  the  Bible.  The  question  arises  whether  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  admits  of  a  supplement  and  whether  it 
does  not  claim  to  be  and  is  not  complete.  Or  if  Islam 
supersedes  Christianity,  its  superiority  must  be  shown 
in  its  revelation  of  the  character  of  God,  its  book 
bringing  the  revelation  to  men,  its  rule  of  life,  and  its 
fruits  in  individuals  and  in  society.  This  burden  of 
proof  may  fairly  and  in  a  way  to  demand  attention  be 
pressed  on  every  apologist  for  Islam,  and  experience 
shows  that  this  is  an  effective  mode  of  argument. 

III.    The  Peactical  Aim  in  Controversy 

By  this  is  meant  the  personal  effect  on  those  with 
whom  discussion  is  carried  on.  Perhaps  this  must 
vary  with  circumstances,  and  it  is  impossible  to  define 
it  precisely,  and  yet  some  suggestions. may  be  helpful. 
It  seems  to  me  that  arousing  a  sense  of  personal  sin 
and  need  should  be  a  part  of  this  purpose.  One  of 
the  deepest  deficiencies  of  Islam  is  its  defective  concep- 


194       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

tion  of  sin,  and  the  practical  effect  of  this  error  is  one 
of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  reaching  Mohammedans. 
A  real  sense  of  sinfulness  leads  to  dissatisfaction  with 
the  whole  system  of  Islam,  for  the  fault  is  in  the  sys- 
tem as  a  whole,  and  not  merely  in  some  single  point. 
The  conceptions  of  God  and  of  human  nature  aie  inad- 
equate, and  closely  connected  with  them  are  the  super- 
ficial notions  of  sin  and  its  forgiveness.  Hence  a  soul 
with  a  true  sense  of  need  will  be  on  that  account  read- 
ier to  leave  Islam  and  to  hear  the  message  of  Christ. 
Another  necessary  element  in  the  impression  to  be 
made  on  those  with  whom  discussion  is  carried  on  is 
that  of  the  character  and  sincere  purpose  of  him  who 
presents  Christianity.  This  can  be  gained  only  by 
genuine  Christlikeness  in  character,  but  the  mode  and 
spirit  of  our  controversy  have  their  influence.  Back 
of  all  there  must  be  a  real  love  for  the  souls  of  those 
whom  we  meet  and  a  desire  to  lead  them  to  the 
Saviour. 

IV.     Attitude  of  Islajm  to  Christianity 

In  considering  this  relationship  three  points  are  im- 
portant, (a)  Islam  recognizes  the  genuineness  of  the 
Christian  revelation.  (&)  Islam  assumes  a  definite 
position  with  reference  to  Christianity,  (c)  Islam  con- 
tains in  its  very  foundation  a  misrepresentation  of 
Christianity. 

The  fact  that  the  Koran  and  the  traditions  acknowl- 
edge the  rightfulness  of  the  claims  of  Christianity  to 
a  divine  origin  has  rightly  been  seized  upon  by  Chris- 
tian controversialists.     This  gives  to  Christ  and  to  the 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings         195" 

Bible  an  incontestable  claim  to  tbe  reverence  of  all 
Moslems.     It  furnishes  a  sure  basis  for  discussion. 

In  his  own  estimation  and  that  of  his  followers 
Mohammed  raised  and  answered  the  claim  of  Christ. 
He  assigned  to  Him  His  place  and  titles,  one  of  the 
greatest  prophets,  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  Word  of 
God.  He  claimed  that  there  had  been  but  one  true 
faith  from  the  beginning  preached  by  all  the  great 
prophets,  one  in  essence  though  differing  in  form. 
But  he  denied  to  Christ  the  title  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  with  this  denial  placed  Him  on  a  level  with 
Abraham  and  Moses  and  Mohammed  himself.  He  also 
denied  to  Christianity  the  claim  to  be  the  final  relig- 
ion. This  assumption  of  a  definite  position  is  a  chief 
reason  why  Mohammedanism  has  been  the  hardest  of 
all  faiths  to  dislodge.  It  is  a  common  law  of  human 
nature  that  it  is  difficult  to  induce  men  to  reconsider 
a  position  once  assumed.  In  this  case  the  difidculty  is 
increased  by  the  fact  that  apparently  so  much  is  con- 
ceded. Every  true  Moslem  is  ready  to  yield  to  Christ 
high  honour  and  to  ascribe  to  Him  lofty  titles,  and 
this  is  a  great  obstacle  to  giving  the  complete  alle- 
giance which  Christ  demands.  At  the  same  time  the 
inherent  inconsistency  of  the  Moslem  position  offers  a 
basis  for  cogent  argument. 

Mohammed  denied  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as  an 
infringement  on  the  divine  unity  and,  furthermore, 
misunderstood  and  misrepresented  the  doctrine  itself. 
The  same  remark  applies  also  to  the  doctrines  of  divine 
Fatherhood  and  Sonship.  The  Koran  and  still  more 
tradition    contain    confused    and  contradictory  nar- 


196       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

ratives,  which  claim  to  be  a  part  of  Biblical  History. 
This  misrepresentation  of  Christianity  is  a  dif&culty, 
in  that  it  makes  it  necessary  to  clear  the  minds  of 
Mohammedans  of  misconceptions  and  of  prejudices. 
On  the  other  hand  here  is  a  flaw  in  the  foundations  of 
the  structure  of  the  religion,  easily  shown  and  obviously 
incompatible  with  the  claims  of  the  religion  to  a 
divine  origin. 

V.    TttE  Beliefs  in  Common  and  those  Peculiae 
TO  Christianity 

The  stress  must  be  laid  not  on  the  doctrines  held  in 
common  but  on  those  peculiar  to  Christianity.  No 
one  will  think  of  disturbing  belief  in  the  former,  but 
Christianity  can  be  accepted  in  place  of  Islam  only  be- 
cause it  differs  from  the  latter.  An  exception  may  be 
made  of  the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God,  because  of 
the  impression  that  Christians  deny  this.  Very  often 
too,  the  resemblance  in  doctrine  is  superficial  and  it  is 
important  to  point  out  the  differences.  For  example, 
both  religions  are  built  on  the  belief  in  the  fact  of  rev- 
elation, and  yet  the  two  conceptions  of  this  process 
are  vitally  different.  Moslems  believe  in  successive 
revelations.  Their  claim  is  that  one  faith — Islam — has 
been  delivered  to  a  succession  of  prophets,  each  super- 
seding the  last  preceding.  Christians  believe  that  rev- 
elation is  progressive  and  cumulative,  culminating  in 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Moslem  thinks  of  each  revelation 
as  a  separate  book  sent  down  from  heaven,  while  the 
Christian  recognizes  the  providential  process  in  the 
history  of  individuals  and  of  a  chosen  nation  that  is  an 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings         197 

integral  part  of  revelation.  Plainly  enough  the  differ- 
ences are  fundamental  and  affect  some  of  the  vital 
points  in  controversy,  such  as  the  form  and  character 
of  sacred  Scripture.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
every  doctrine  held  in  common  on  careful  considera- 
tion will  be  found  to  exhibit  vital  differences.  This  is 
true  of  repentance,  of  faith,  of  good  works,  and,  above 
all,  of  the  divine  nature  and  character.  Making  the 
most  therefore  of  all  that  is  true  in  Islam  and  in  no 
unfair  way  minimizing  the  amount  of  truth  taught,  we 
must  strive  always  to  pass  beyond  to  new  truth  un- 
known to  it. 

VI.  The  Polemic  Against  Islam 
However  clearly  the  great  aim  of  presenting  Christ 
be  maintained,  no  one  can  avoid  sooner  or  later  the 
necessity  of  attacking  Islam.  Some  of  the  lines  of 
argument  have  been  noted,  and  some  will  depend  upon 
local  or  sectarian  beliefs  and  practices.  The  impor- 
tance and  divergence  of  these  last  is  often  overlooked 
in  discussions  of  Mohammedanism.  In  general  the 
polemic  should  not  be  directed  against  the  person  of 
Mohammed.  It  may  be  that  a  conclusive  argument 
against  Islam  can  be  built  upon  a  study  of  the  charac- 
ter of  its  founder,  for  his  relation  to  the  system  is  unde- 
niably close.  At  the  same  time  an  equally  conclusive 
argument  can  be  made  without  reference  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  prophet.  Interesting  as  it  is,  his  charac- 
ter is  not  the  main  issue.  His  magnificent  courage  in 
preaching  one  God  proves  little  as  to  the  moral  ade- 
quacy of  his  conception  of  God's  character.     Whether 


198        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Mohammed  was  a  social  reformer  or  a  profligate,  po- 
lygamy aud  easy  divorce  are  curses  perpetuated  by 
Mohammedanism  wherever  it  goes.  Furthermore,  argu- 
ment is  generally  carried  on  with  people  whose  moral 
standards  and  judgments  are  on  a  low  plane,  and  whose 
knowledge  of  the  life  and  character  of  Mohammed  is 
legendary  and  as  far  as  possible  from  being  critical. 
Nothing  arouses  fanaticism  as  surely  as  an  attack  upon 
the  founder  of  the  faith.  The  Koran  itself  is  another 
vulnerable  point  in  Islam.  The  abrogation  within 
itself  of  certain  parts,  the  relation  of  the  ''revelations" 
to  the  private  life  of  Mohammed,  aud  the  fact  that 
it  contains  material  clearly  derived  from  contempo- 
raneous sources  in  spite  of  the  claim  that  it  descended 
from  heaven,  are  some  of  the  damaging  characteristics. 
Nevertheless  the  Koran  is  not  the  main  object  of  at- 
tack. The  great  object  in  attacking  Islam  should  be 
to  show  its  inadequacy.  Perhaps  two  points  may  be 
singled  out  in  this  connection.  One  is  the  inadequacy 
of  the  means  presented  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  The 
atonement  by  the  Cross  is  denied,  and  nothing  is 
offered  in  its  place.  The  lack  is  testified  to  most  im- 
pressively by  the  attempts  to  find  intercessors  and 
martyrs  in  whom  hope  may  be  centred,  but  who  have 
no  proper  place  in  the  system  of  belief.  The  other  is 
the  impotence  of  Islam  to  bring  about  a  moral  refor- 
mation, either  in  the  individual  or  in  society.  It  pre- 
sents no  sure  basis  for  ethical  obligation,  no  example 
for  imitation,  and  no  promise  of  the  divine  presence 
in  the  soul  which  is  struggling  upwards.  The  Chris- 
tian law  of  love  as  a  principle  of  character  controlling 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings         199 

the  life  is  infinitely  above  the  conceptions  of  Moham- 
medanism, 

VII.  The  Spirit  in  Controversy 
Two  points  only  can  be  mentioned  here.  One  is 
that  in  no  part  of  missionary  work  do  we  need  more 
deeply  to  show  the  spirit  of  Christ,  fairness  in  argu- 
ment, patience  with  ignorance,  and,  above  all,  a  sin- 
cere love  for  those  with  whom  we  are  carrying  on 
religious  controversy.  The  other  is  that  a  necessary 
qualification  is  a  complete  dependence  on  the  Holy 
Spirit,  of  whom  the  Master  promised  :  "He  will  con- 
vict the  world  in  respect  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness, 
and  of  j udgment. "  "He  shall  take  of  Mine  and  declare 
it  unto  you."  The  Spirit  is  promised  to  work  in  us 
and  with  us. 

VIII.  The  Mohammedan  Controversy  in 
Christian  Lands 
There  is  another  phase  of  this  controversy  less  directly 
connected  with  missionary  work  and  yet  important. 
The  estimate  of  Islam  current  in  Christian  lauds  and 
in  literature  is  important  on  account  of  its  bearing  on 
the  missionary  sentiment  in  the  Church.  Students  of 
religion,  of  politics,  and  of  history  are  forced  to  take 
Islam  into  account  as  a  great  factor  in  human  life. 
They  will  contribute  much  which  is  of  value  to  the 
missionary,  to  the  true  estimate  of  this  religion,  much 
also  which  the  missionary  cannot  contribute.  The 
missionary  also  ought  to  contribute  much  that  no  one 
else  can.     Others  may  know  Islam  more  comprehen- 


200        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

sively  but  none  more  intimately  than  he.  In  order 
that  his  words  should  have  an  influence,  especially  on 
the  thoughtful  and  well  informed,  he  must  be  accurate 
and  fair  in  his  statements.  Too  often  this  has  not 
been  the  case,  and  the  cause  of  missions  has  suffered 
in  cousequence.  The  case  against  Islam  is  invincibly 
strong,  if  it  be  not  weakened  by  unwise  statements. 
While  valuable  contributions  have  been  made  by  mis- 
sionaries and  friends  of  missions,  there  is  need  of 
more  such  work  both  in  finished  literary  productions 
and  in  the  public  addresses  and  the  private  conversa- 
tions of  missionaries  on  furlough.  Islam  stands  before 
the  bar  of  the  world  as  well  as  of  the  individual. 

Discussion 

Question  read  by  chairman :  When  the  Moslem  ad- 
mires the  fruits  of  Christianity,  is  it  not  the  practice 
of  every  missionary  to  direct  attention  to  the  root  and 
offer  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour  ? — My  reply  is,  do 
so  by  all  means. 

Eev.  D.  M.  TJiornton  presented  the  following  axioms 
and  canons  for  controversy  : 

Axioms — 

1.  A  simple  gospel  for  simple  people. 

2.  The  nearer  East  is  tired  of  theological  hair 

splitting. 

3.  There  is  a  need  in  the  East  for  a  moral  and 

spiritual  religion. 
Canons — 

1.     Never  begin  or  provoke  a  controversy  with 
Moslems. 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings        201 

2.  Conduct  a  controversy  only  occasionally,  and 

only  if  physically,  mentally  and  spiritually 
qualified. 

3.  Never  refuse  to  remove  misunderstandings  of 

Christianity  even  if  it  leads  to  controversy. 

4.  Always  lift  a  controversy  on  to  a  higher  plane 

and  utilize  it  for  pressing  home  the  gospel. 

5.  Never  accept  a  controversy  with  ignorant  and 

gross  minds. 

6.  As  soon  as  qualified  native  converts  are  ob- 

tained, stand  by  them,  but  let  them  lead. 

Bev.  Van  Ess :  You  must  read  up  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects. .  .  .  One  has  no  difficulty  in  getting  a  hear- 
ing after  square  dealing  with  a  Turk. 

Dr.  WeithrecM :  We  must  show  that  the  Christian 
religion  is  one  of  absolute  openness  and  fairness  in 
argument.  If  there  is  a  real  difficulty,  say  so,  and  do 
not  try  to  get  round  it  by  diplomacy. 

Controversy  does  not  do  away  with  sympathy. 

A  book  discussion  is  the  best  method.  It  was  on 
one  occasion  carried  on  in  Amritsar  as  follows  : 

Taking  the  Bible  and  Koran,  find  out  what  both  say 
on  certain  subjects.  For  instance.  Being  and  attri- 
butes of  God.     Sin  and  Eedemption. 

Each  side  taking  a  quarter  of  an  hour  for  discussing 
the  subject. 

From  a  lady  in  the  conference :  An  Armenian  evan- 
gelist and  a  Turkish  companion  were  in  a  wild  fanat- 
ical district.  They  had  been  warned  by  the  governor, 
himself  a  secret  inquirer,  and  very  friendly,  and 
others,  not  to  speak  plainly  but  under  a  veil.     In  a 


202        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

wild  village,  they  were  each  silently  praying  for  guid- 
ance but  resolved  on  extreme  caution.  The  Armenian 
was  struck  forcibly  by  the  thought,  "  If  I  do  not  speak 
plainly  to  these  people,  who  will  1 "  At  the  same  mo- 
ment the  Turk  raised  his  head  saying,  "Fear  not, 
speak  plainly.  He  that  is  with  us  is  more  than  those 
who  are  against  us."  Before  a  large  audience  the 
Armenian  told  the  truth  in  love  and  a  voice  cried  out 
from  the  crowd,  "  Woe  to  us,  we  are  undone,  our  hope 
is  cut  off,"  and  they  had  a  good  work  in  that  place. 

Chairman :  In  Arabia  we  find  the  best  results  come 
from  the  preaching  of  the  plain  unvarnished  truth  of 
the  gospel. 

Our  mistake  is  that  we  have  been  afraid  of  Islam. 

Dr.  Watson :  For  two  years  we  had  a  public  discus- 
sion two  nights  every  week.  Sometimes  friendly, 
oftener  otherwise.  The  results  were  not  what  we  ex- 
pected. They  did  much  good  to  the  Christians  present. 
It  showed  them  how  their  religion  might  be  defended. 
It  brought  out  the  weakness  of  the  Mohammedans. 
Our  native  converts  came  off  with  the  victory  every 
time. 

Public  discussion  of  this  kind  is  of  very  little  use  in 
influencing  the  Mohammedans  to  accept  Christianity. 

We  have  changed  our  plan.  Our  native  worker, 
every  Monday  evening,  gives  Christian  addresses,  with 
something  for  the  Mohammedans  present. 

We  must  depend  a  great  deal  on  personal  conduct. 

Dr.  Martin :  Eeformed  Presbyterian  Church,  Anti- 
och,  Syria  (extract  from  a  letter)  :  As  I  am  novc  in  my 
thirty-fifth  year  of  missionary  service  I  would  mention 


Controversy  in  All  Its  Bearings        203 

a  few  of  my  main  principles  respecting  mission  work 
among  the  Mohammedans. 

First, — convinced  that  so  long  as  a  Mohammedan 
holds  that  all  things  must  be  tested  by  the  Koran  I 
can  expect  no  effect  from  any  teaching  I  may  give  him, 
it  is,  in  addressing  Mohammedans,  my  fiist  endeavour 
to  persuade  them  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  and  these  alone,  arethe  Wordof  God. 

And  I  always  warn  my  co-workers,  colporteurs  and 
others,  to  beware  of  so  quoting  the  Koran  in  convers- 
ing with  Mohammedans  as  to  give  them  the  impression 
that  we  treat  it  as  from  God. 

Br.  IlerricJc:  I  find  it  desirable  to  hold  the  dis- 
cussion to  the  New  Testament.  Keep  their  minds  on 
the  life  of  Christ.  Do  not  allow  their  minds  to  wan- 
der off  by  taking  up  Old  Testament  stories  which  are 
difficult  problems. 

In  regard  to  the  position  of  native  pastors  with  ref- 
erence to  their  neighbours,  many  are  much  in  earnest 
to  bring  them  into  close  contact  with  the  Gospels. 
They  must  be  wise  and  tactful,  but  never  forget  their 
obligations  to  the  people  amongst  whom  they  live.  In 
this  rests  our  hope  very  largely.  We  should  bring 
them  to  that  spirit. 

Dr.  Zwemer  heartily  endorsed  the  general  principles 
laid  down  by  Dr.  Thornton. 

Dr.  Weitbrecht  said„that  in  India  the  native  worker 
when  employing  controversy  often  gets  into  difficulties 
and  needs  the  English  missionary  with  wider  outlook 
to  save  the  situation. 

Dr.    Wherry:    I  would  avoid  controversy  in  the 


204       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

sense  of  public  debate,  but  would  discuss  with  one  or 
more  in  a  private  place. 

He  said  he  had  twice  been  asked  to  speak  at  a  so- 
ciety established  by  natives  of  Saharanpur  for  the 
study  of  comparative  religion  ;  once  on  The  Mysteries 
of  the  Christian  Religion  and  again  on  The  Christian  Doc- 
trine of  Sacrifice.  His  hearers  listened  for  a  full  hour 
ia  which  he  opened  each  subject.  Subsequent  discus- 
sion was  carried  on  without  anything  offensive  beiug 
allowed  to  be  said  against  the  speaker  or  the  subject 
itself,  and  at  the  end  opportunity  was  given  to  reply  to 
objections  raised.  The  discussion  was  followed  by  a 
friendly  social  gathering  and  banquet. 

Dr.  Simpson  thought  the  axioms  equally  suitable  for 
workers  amongst  the  slums  of  our  own  large  cities. 

Mr.  Gairdner  emphasized  the  great  bearing  which 
tliis  question  has  on  our  views  of  inspiration.  "We 
must  be  perfectly  sure  of  our  ground.  Our  arguments 
must  be  true  in  themselves^  as  well  as  meeting  our  op- 
ponents. 


xin 

THE  NEED  FOR  PRAYER  AND  SACRIFICE 

Kev.  W.  Dickins 

I  VENTURE  to  define  a  missionary  among  Moslems  as 
any  one  who  has  been  constrained  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  go  from  his  country  and  people  to 
live  among  a  Moslem  population  as  His  ambassador  ; 
one  who  in  such  circumstances  represents  Him  to 
them  as  He  is  set  forth  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
He  may  be  and  often  is  sent  also  by  a  church  and  a 
missionary  society,  the  members  of  which  stand  behind 
him  by  their  prayers  and  means,  but  this  although 
very  important  is  not  essential  to  his  mission.  And  if 
the  spiritual  constraint  be  absent,  no  human  creden- 
tials can  make  him  a  missionary  to  Moslems. 

The  missionary  among  Moslems  then  is  an  ambassa- 
dor of  Christ  among  a  people,  who  are  not  only 
morally  opposed  to  the  righteousness  and  holiness  of 
God,  but  doctrinally  opposed  to  the  claims  of  Christ  as 
the  eternal  Son  of  the  Divine  Father,  and  His  equality 
with  the  Father  and  to  all  those  Scriptures  which  set 
forth  the  fact  that  Christ  died  for  the  sins  of  men.  So 
he  has  constantly  to  press  these  claims  upon  a  people 
unwilling  to  grant  their  validity  and  bitterly  opposed 
to  their  influence.  By  day  and  by  night  he  must  pon- 
der the  problem,  "  How  to  bring  these  claims  home  to 
their  hearts  and  consciences."     And  for  this  great 

205 


2o6        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

service  he  needs  to  be  a  man  of  incessant  prayer,  and 
always  be  ready  to  make  sacrifices  in  harmony  with 
the  revealed  will  of  God.  It  may  be  asked,  In  what 
way  does  one  need  to  exercise  prayer  and  a  spirit  of 
sacrifice  ? 

First,  I  suggest,  by  focussing  his  work  to  a  sharper 
and  sharper  outUne  as  experience  grows.  A  deeper 
study  of  the  Bible  and  comparison  with  every  idea  in 
the  Koran,  if  possible  comparing  the  Hebrew,  Greek 
and  Arabic  terms,  that  he  may  be  able  to  say,  ' '  This 
is  the  particular  difference  between  the  word  of  God 
and  what  the  Moslem  thinks  to  be  the  word  of  God." 
* '  This  one  thing  I  do. "  Are  we  ready  to  pray  for  this 
and  to  follow  the  prayer  by  sacrificing  whatever 
would  hinder  its  accomplishment  % 

Secondly,  by  extending  his  efforts  to  unoccupied 
quarters.  There  is  much  land  still  to  be  possessed. 
The  true  missionary  to  Moslems  should  long  to  preach 
in  other  cities  also,  yea  to  every  creatui-e.  While  the 
Moslem  population  around  my  own  house  has  had  my 
first  and  chief  attention,  I  have  occasionally  gone  out 
to  the  villages.  Only  a  fortnight  ago  I  was  at  the 
point  where  the  Mahmudieh  canal  enters  the  Nile  and 
had  a  most  sympathetic  crowd  listening  to  the  gospel 
for  half  an  hour  outside  a  Greek  grocer's  shop,  while 
I  spoke  to  them  from  the  veranda.  But  on  my  way 
I  passed  village  after  village,  with  no  one  there  to  rep- 
resent our  Lord  to  them.  And  each  missionary  here 
can  say  the  district  around  him  is  in  a  similar  plight. 
Shall  we  not  pray  that  our  efforts  may  be  so  concen- 
trated and  extended  that  multitudes  shall  hear,  believe 


The  Need  for  Prayer  and  Sacrifice      207 

and  live,  and  are  we  prepared  to  sacrifice  whatever 
would  hinder  its  accomplishment  ? 

Thirdly,  by  treating  all  our  converted  native  helpers 
as  brethren  indeed.  One  is  our  Master  and  all  we  are 
brethren.  All  feeling  of  superiority  must  be  laid  aside. 
It  is  the  fly  in  the  ointment.  I  knew  a  missionary  lady 
once  who  showed  by  her  whole  manner  towards  a  native 
Bible  woman,  and  sometimes  expressed  it  in  words,  that 
she  considered  her  altogether  in  an  inferior  position. 
This  is  a  delicate  subject,  but  unless  we  are  willing  to 
stoop  low,  even  as  the  Master  did,  we  shall  never  win 
the  Moslems.  Oh  !  is  there  not  need  for  prayer  for  the 
humility  of  our  Lord  and  the  sacrifice  of  every  racial 
feeling  and  of  every  social  custom  which  would  hinder 
the  realization  of  true  brotherhood  and  sisterhood  ! 

Fourthly,  by  simplicity  of  church  organization. 
What  I  think  is  needed  is  the  founding  of  churches  in 
the  New  Testament  sense.  Two  or  three  gathered  to- 
gether by  the  Holy  Spirit  around  the  person  of  the 
living  Saviour  to  read  and  expound  His  word,  baptized 
on  a  profession  of  their  faith  and  breaking  bread  to- 
gether at  His  table  in  the  simplest  possible  way,  all 
simply  professing  submission  to  all  clear  teaching  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Can  we  all  pray  for  this 
with  a  clear  conscience  *?  Shall  we  not  be  willing  to 
dispense  with  all  pictures  in  the  place  of  meeting,  all 
crosses  and  other  ritualistic  practices,  that  we  may  not 
offend  the  consciences  of  Moslems  in  what  seems  to 
them  is  idolatry  ? 

Fifthly,  by  urging  constantly  upon  each  convert  the 
necessity  of  using  whatever  gift  the  Lord  has  bestowed 


2o8        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

upon  him  in  making  known  what  he  has  experienced 
of  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  at  all  costs.  ' '  Go 
and  tell  thy  friends  what  great  things  the  Lord  hath 
done  for  thee,"  is  a  message  often  needed.  The  carry- 
ing of  it  out  may  mean  difficulties  for  us  as  well  as  for 
the  converts.  Shall  we  pray  for  grace  to  meet  them 
and  sacrifice  all  that  would  hinder  the  possibility  of 
such  a  consummation  to  our  labour  ? 

Lfistly,  in  rejoicing  over  every  victory  the  native 
helper  wins  as  if  it  were  won  by  us  personally.  Let 
us  pray  for  the  spirit  of  John  the  Baptist  and  say,  "  The 
native  Christian  must  increase  but  we  must  decrease." 

Then  the  great  need  of  prayer  and  sacrifice  is  em- 
phasized by  the  special  temptations  that  beset  the  mis- 
sionary and  his  helpers  among  Moslems. 

1.  The  temptation  to  regard  the  Moslem  as  in  a 
hopeless  condition.  The  Copt  often  has  urged  me  not 
to  give  the  Bible  to  the  Moslem  on  the  ground  that  he 
has  his  own  sacred  book,  and  any  other  is  useless  for 
him.  I  can  take  you  to  some  Moslems,  in  my  own 
quarter,  who  have  clung  to  Christ  Jesus  amid  all  sorts 
of  petty  insult  for  more  than  three  years,  and  whom  I 
have  watched  and  rejoiced  over  again  and  again,  as 
they  have  in  prayer  confessed  they  were  resting  on 
His  infinite  sacrifice  for  sin  and  coming  to  God  in  His 
name  alone.  After  speaking  last  Sunday  week  for  the 
third  time  in  a  large  hospital  on  Jesus  as  our  great 
High  Priest,  I  was  urged  to  come  again  soon  and 
spend  three  hours  with  them  instead  of  one.  Such  in- 
stances can  be  multiplied  all  over  the  Moslem  world. 
They  show  that  the  case  is  not  only  not  hopeless  but 


The  Need  for  Prayer  and  Sacrifice      209 

hopeful  to  tlie  highest  degree,  if  we  will  but  be  faithful 
to  our  Lord. 

2.  The  temptation  to  be  drawn  aside  by  Satan  to  take 
an  unauthorized  road  to  reach  the  end  in  view.  The 
Jesuitical  method  based  on  the  end  as  justifying  the 
means.  The  means  as  well  as  the  end  must  be 
scriptural.  There  can  be  no  sending  of  unfaithful  re- 
ports to  gain  support,  no  using  the  respect  given  to 
spiritual  position  for  the  advancement  of  material 
ends.  By  all  means  do  good  to  all  men,  but  let  the 
good  ever  flow  from  pure  love  to  our  Master  and  be  for 
His  glory. 

3.  The  temptation  to  hold  back  some  particular 
truth  because  it  would  be  unpleasant  to  the  hearer, 
such  as  the  incarnation  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  His 
atoning  death,  or  the  denial  of  the  Scriptures  which  do 
not  fit  in  with  our  theories  or  the  convictions  of  those 
to  whom  we  are  sent. 

Time  fails  me  to  tell  of  besetting  perils  for  the  mis- 
sionary among  Moslems  which  still  further  emphasize 
the  need  of  prayer  and  sacrifice,  such  as  climatic  and 
sanitary  perils,  the  presence  of  robbers  in  places,  the 
use  made  of  bribery  even  to  put  away  enemies,  revenge, 
and  outbursts  of  fanaticism  on  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion. 

But  I  must  say  one  word  on  the  need  of  prayer  and 
sacrifice  in  the  face  of  the  fewness  in  numbers.  "We 
are  told  on  good  authority  that  there,  are  districts  oc- 
cupied by  68,450,000  Moslems  unoccupied  by  any 
Christian  missionary.  Owing  to  my  daily  and  hourly 
duties  as  a  missionary  among  a  Moslem  population,  I 


210        Mission  Work.  Among  Moslems 

have  not  been  able  to  investigate  the  question  as  to 
how  many  missionaries  and  helpers  are  at  work  among 
the  remaining  135,150,000,  but  judging  from  my  ac- 
quaintance with  this  land,  I  should  say  they  are  but  as 
a  drop  in  a  bucket.  New  missionaries  need  to  be 
called  of  God  and  prepared  through  years  of  education 
for  such  a  work.  Then  in  what  way  should  the  present 
missionaries  and  their  helpers  seek  to  supply  the  over- 
whelming demand?  I  answer,  first,  by  more  definite 
prayer.  Shall  we  begin  to  pray  for  one  hundred  fresh 
missionaries  at  once  to  be  distributed  throughout  all 
Moslem  lands  ?  Are  we  prepared  for  the  sacrifice  it 
involves?  Second,  by  faith  in  the  provision  "If  ye 
ask  ...  I  will  do."  Are  we  willing  to  pray 
yet  more  earnestly  and  sacrifice  yet  more  sacrificing!  y  ? 
Third,  by  looking  out  for  the  answers  till  they  can  be 
registered.  "Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest, that  He  may  send  forth  labourers  into  His 
harvest." 


XIV 

PREPARATION  OF  WORKERS  FOR  WORK 
AMONG  MOSLEMS 

The  Right  Rev.  G.  A.  Lefeoy,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Lahoee 

It  is  probable  that  intellectual  preparation  was  up- 
permost in  the  minds  of  those  who  thus  defined  what 
the  subject  of  my  paper  was  to  be.  And  to  such  in- 
tellectual preparation  I  attach,  for  reasons  to  which  I 
shall  refer  later  on,  very  great  importance  indeed ;  I 
consider  it  lamentable  that,  in  the  vast  majority  of 
cases,  so  little  attention  has  been  paid  in  the  past  to 
the  need  of  quite  special  intellectual  training  for  those 
whose  purpose  it  is  to  devote  their  lives  to  work 
amongst  Mohammedans,  and  it  will  be  to  me  a  cause 
of  singular  rejoicing  and  thankfulness  if  one  result  of 
the  Cairo  conference  is  to  set  forward  a  really  practical 
and  well-devised  scheme  to  this  end.  But  yet,  partly 
because  I  feel  so  sure  that  much  consideration  will  in  any 
case  be  given  to  this  need,  partly  because  I  attach  so 
much  more  importance  and  skill  to  another  kind  of 
preparation  with  a  view  to  this  work,  I  am  going  to 
devote  the  chief  part  of  my  paper  to  it — viz.,  the  need 
of  moral  and  spiritual  preparation. 

The  preeminence  of  such  qualifications  will,  I  know, 
be  admitted  instantly,  though  perhaps  it  may  be  urged 
that  they  should  be  viewed  rather  as  indispensable 
conditions,  or  prerequisites,  for  any  satisfactory  course 
of  training  than  as  a  part  of  such  training  itself. 

211 


212        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

Id  this,  however,  I  do  not  altogether  agree  ;  I  beliere 
that  if  the  absolute  necessity  of  such  qualificatious  is 
recognized  with  sufficient  cleai'ness  and  sufficiently  in- 
sisted upon,  much  can  be  done,  alike  by  the  individual 
student  in  the  culture  of  his  own  life,  and  by  any  insti- 
tution in  which  he  may  be  pursuing  his  coui-se  of 
study,  to  develop  such  virtues  and  qualities  in  him, 
and  anyhow  I  want  to  emphasize  in  the  strongest  way 
in  my  power,  that  these  are  the  things  which  are  abso- 
lutely and  invariably  indispensable  for  any  good,  solid 
work  on  behalf  of  our  Lord  and  Master  amongst  Mo- 
hammedans ;  and  that  if  a  man  does  not  possess,  or  has 
no  prospect  of  acquiring,  them  in  some  reasonable  de- 
gree, the  best  devised  and  most  effective  system  of  in- 
tellectual training  will,  in  his  case,  be  thrown  away. 

I  will,  therefore,  specify  in  some  detail  the  qual- 
ities, chiefly  moral  rather  than  spiritual,  which  I  con- 
sider of  primary  importance  in  this  regard,  mentioning 
them  not  in  any  order  which  I  would  claim  to  be  of 
absolute  value,  but  in  that  in  which  my  own  individual 
experience  has  led  me  to  think  of  them. 

1.  Entire  fairness  and  truthfulness  in  conducting  an 
argument.  What  a  truism  it  sounds  in  words,  how  in- 
tensely difficult  it  is  to  observe  in  practice  !  A  ques- 
tion— perhaps  a  very  ingenious  or  subtle  one — is 
asked,  and  we  are  not  really  sure  of  the  answer.  But 
a  listening,  eager  and  hostile  crowd  are  waiting  for  our 
reply,  and  we  know  quite  well  that  any  unsatisfactori- 
ness  or  weakness  in  it,  much  more  any  admission  that 
we  cannot  reply,  or  have  not  got  a  satisfactory  an- 
swer, will  be  immediately  hailed  as  an  acceptance  of 


Preparation  of  Workers  2 13 

defeat  not  of  ourselves  only  but  of  the  cause,  dearer  to 
us  than  life,  which  we  represent.  Perhaps  too  there 
comes — how  often  there  has  come  to  me ! — the  most 
insidious  thought,  "  I  can  give  an  answer  that  will  do 
for  them  quite  well  enough.  It  may  not  be  in  itself  a 
very  scholarly  one,  or  one  that  I  feel  very  sure  of  my- 
self. I  might  not  care  to  put  it  forward  in  a  meeting 
of  English  clergy — perhaps  I  know  in  my  heart  that  if 
I  were  to  do  so  it  would  not  hold  water — or  be  accepted 
— for  an  instant.  But  these  people  don't  know  enough 
to  see  its  weak  point.     It  will  do  for  them." 

And  the  catechist,  too,  by  our  side  is  waiting  anx- 
iously for  our  reply,  looking  as  though  the  fate  of 
Christianity  depended  on  that  reply  being  plausible, 
at  least,  and  catching,  even  if  nothing  more.  What 
shall  we  do  ?  Can  we  resist  the  temptation  ?  Can  we 
confine  our  answer  to  what  we  really  do  feel  honestly 
sure  and  personally  convinced  of,  deeming  it  wholly 
unworthy,  and  most  unscholarly,  to  trust  to  the  igno- 
rance of  those  to  whom  we  speak  not  to  detect  the 
weakness  of  our  reply  ?  Or,  harder  still,  can  we  say 
quite  simply  and  quietly,  "That  question  is  too  hard 
for  me  at  this  moment.  I  have  not  thought  out  the 
point  before,  and  I  would  sooner  not  say  anything  just 
at  once" — can  we  say  that,  and  not  mind  in  the  very 
slightest  the  hoot  of  derision,  the  claim  on  our  ques- 
tioner's part  of  entire  victory  ?  It  is  most  hard.  It 
really  is,  I  think,  for  the  most  part  beyond  the  power 
of  our  catechists.  I  would  often  have  rejoiced  more  if 
I  could  have  got  them  simply  to  say  at  such  a  time — 
"I  don't  know,"  than  if  I  could  have  supplied  them 


214        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

with  the  most  conclusive  answer  possible,  for  I  should 
have  felt  how  far  greater  a  moral  triumph  it  repre- 
sented. To  thera  it  seems,  as  I  have  said,  as  though 
Christianity  itself  depends  on  a  catechist — to  say  noth- 
ing of  a  clergyman — not  admitting  that  he  has  no  re- 
ply to  give  to  any  question,  concerning  things  either 
in  heaven  or  earth,  that  may  be  sprung  upon  him  at  a 
moment's  notice. 

And  yet,  if  we  would  only  believe  it,  the  moral  ef- 
fect on  our  antagonists  themselves — or  if  not  exactly 
on  the  leading  antagonists,  who  are  perhaps  often 
proof  against  any  such  impressions,  yet  at  any  rate  on 
the  majority  of  those  who  are  listening — of  an  honest 
and  candid  answer  like  that,  is  infinitely  greater  than 
of  the  cleverest  and  most  convincing  intellectual  reply 
that  can  be  given.  Clever  replies  are  not  difficult  to 
the  Eastern  mind — very  clever  indeed,  as  I  know  full 
well  to  my  cost,  and  as  I  am  sure  all  others  know 
equally  well,  who  have  engaged  at  all  in  intellectual 
discussions  with  Mohammedans  or  Hindus.  It  is  not 
likely  that  we  shall  beat  them  much  on  that  line.  But 
I  venture  to  believe  that  the  number  of  Mohammedan 
Moulvies  who  have  the  moral  strength  in  such  circum- 
stances to  reply,  honestly  and  humbly,  "I  don't 
know  ;  I  can't  answer  that  question  at  present,"  is  in- 
finitesimally  small,  and  if  in  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  we  can  win  that  great  victory  more  often,  be 
perfectly  sure  that  as  a  testimony  to  the  superhuman 
strength  of  our  faith  its  value  will  be  immeasur- 
able. 

Practice  then  from  the  earliest  day  of  your  training 


Preparation  of  Workers  215 

for  this  •work,  the  most  rigid  fairness  and  truthfulness 
in  the  conduct  of  every  argument. 

2.  Large  hearted  sympathy,  and  a  desire  not  to  win 
a  controversial  victory,  but  to  see  the  best  side  of  your 
opponent's  case,  and  to  lead  him  on  from  it — from 
such  truth,  that  is,  as  he  does  already  hold,  to  the 
knowledge  of  Him  who  is — absolutely — "The  Truth." 
This  point  follows  very  closely  on  the  last,  is  indeed 
almost  an  outcome  from  it,  for  real  fairness  in  argu- 
ment will  always  compel  us  to  see  that  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  does  not  lie 
exclusively  on  our  side,  but  that  those  to  whom  we  are 
speaking  have  also  learned  at  any  rate  something  from 
the  "  light  which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into  the 
world."  Still,  though  it  follows  so  closely  on  that 
other  position,  it  is  in  some  degree  separable  from  it, 
and  as  it  also  is  of  extreme  importance  I  give  it  sepa- 
rate notice. 

Do  not  argue  for  the  sake  of  victory,  but  to  lead 
your  opponent  gradually  nearer  to  the  truth, — once 
again  what  a  truism  in  words — how  intensely  difficult 
in  practice  !  We  have  suffered  perhaps  much  at  the 
hands  of  some  prominent  bazaar  debater,  and  now  he 
has  more  or  less  given  himself  away,  we  see  a  delight- 
ful opening  for  a  smart — perhaps  a  crushing — re- 
joinder. Shall  we  avail  ourselves  of  it?  Far  be  it 
from  me  to  say  that  such  crushing  rejoinder  ought 
never  to  be  given.  It  too  has  its  place.  Yet  even  it 
can  be  delivered  in  two  ways — in  two  manners,  from 
two  standpoints — which  will  be  perfectly  distinguish- 
able to  the  listening  crowd,  either  in  a  good-humoured 


2i6        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

and  pleasant  way  wliicli,  while  establishing  the  point 
just  as  clearly,  will  yet  take  off  a  good  deal  of  the 
soreness  of  defeat  j  or  in  a  hard  and  dialectically-tri- 
umphant  way — as  of  one  who  has  scored  a  good  point 
and  wants  to  make  the  most  of  it,  to  rub  it  in  well. 
Against  this  latter  temper  I  am  sure  we  should  always 
fight.  We  shall  all  admit  that  it  is  not  the  real  Christ- 
temper,  and  when  that  is  admitted  I  need  say  no  more. 
And  to  help  us  in  fighting  against  it  let  us  try  to  see 
in  each  and  every  individual  whom  we  may  be  ad- 
diessing  the  latent  Christ,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  ex- 
pression, let  us  see  Him  as  the  Father  sees  Him,  who 
sees  in  Him  the  work  of  His  own  hands,  one  therefore 
whose  essential  and  deepest  relationship  is  with  the 
truth — not  with  error,  however  deeply  he  may  have 
committed  himself  to  that. 

Also — and  I  have  often  fouud  this  consideration  an 
immense  help  in  maintaining  under  difl&cult  circum- 
stances the  sympathetic,  forbearing  attitude  which  I 
now  urge — let  us  remember  that,  at  any  rate  in  some 
cases,  bitterness  in  opposition  really  means  that  the 
truth  is  beginning  to  tug  at  the  heart-strings  of  the 
speaker,  and  that  he  is  seeking  to  reestablish  his — 
possibly  wavering — orthodoxy  by  strongest  resistance 
to  the  preachers  of  error.  We  shall  never  know,  I 
suppose,  with  any  certainty  how  far  feelings  of  this 
kind  were  at  work  in  St.  Paul,  and  were  contributing 
to  drive  him  forward  on  that  journey  to  Damascus  to 
make  havoc  of  the  faith.  But  there  seems  not  a  little 
to  be  said  for  the  view  that  he  was  really  in  some  such 
state  as  this  at  the  time,  and,  be  this  as  it  may,  our 


Preparation  of  Workers  217 

oifu  experience  is,  I  am  sure,  ample  to  convince  as 
how  true  this  is  in  the  case  of  others. 

But  if  so,  how  supremely  important  it  is  that  we 
should  not  by  a  hard  and  dialectic  manner  repel  our 
opponent,  but  rather  strive  to  win  him  a  step  nearer 
still  by  the  manifestation  of  the  mind — the  Spirit — of 
Christ. 

I  suppose  scarcely  anything  goes  deeper  by  way  of 
an  explanation — if  the  term  may  be  used — of  our 
blessed  Lord's  extraordinary  success  in  appealing  to, 
and  winning  back  to  repentance  and  new  life,  some  of 
the  willful  sinners  of  His  day,  than  to  recognize  how 
magnificent  was  His  belief  in  the  possibilities  for  good 
inherent  in  every  soul  of  man  with  which  He  came  in 
contact.  It  was  because  He  did  so  profoundly  believe 
that  at  bottom  they  were  true,  and  would  respond  to 
the  truth,  that  His  truth  and  His  human  sympathy 
and  love  alike  went  home  to  them  and  nourished  into 
flame  that  tiniest  spark  of  goodness  which  was  yet 
within  them,  but  which  no  eye  less  acute  or  eager  than 
His  would  have  discerned,  and  which  might  so  easily 
have  been  quenched  altogether  by  a  different  manner 
of  dealing. 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  said  that  it  was  to  the 
latent  possibility  of  moral  goodness,  rather  than  of 
affinity  to  the  truth,  that  He  thus,  in  such  instances, 
primarily  appealed.  But  assuredly  the  same  holds 
good  of  that  affinity  to  the  truth  as  well,  and  few 
things  are  I  believe  more  vitally  important  for  the 
preachers  of  His  Word  than  to  start  from — and  keep 
ever  quick  and  dominant — a  profound  belief  in  the 


2l8        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

testimonium  animce  naturaliter  Christiance.  Be  perfectly 
sure  that,  if  you  can  only  iDresent  it  aright,  the  truth 
which  you  proclaim  is  that  which  at  the  bottom  of 
their  hearts — however  unconsciously — those  you  ad- 
dress are  seeking,  are  craving  for.  We,  too,  come  to 
declare  to  them  Him  whom  even  now  they  iguorantly 
worship.  We,  too,  can  rightfully  and  wisely  throw 
ourselves — would  that  we  did  so  far  oftener  and  far 
more  trustfully — on  their  moral  sense  with  the  appeal, 
' '  Why  even  of  yourselves  j  udge  ye  not  what  is  right  ? ' ' 

It  is,  I  am  sure,  diflacult  to  exaggerate  the  impor- 
tance of  maintaining  this— essentially  Christlike  atti- 
tude. 

3.  Entire  good-temper  and  patience.  The  necessity 
of  this  is  so  obvious  that  one  need  say  little  about  it, 
except  that  here  again  the  maintenance  of  it  is  often  so 
intensely  dif&cult.  No  one  knows,  I  think,  but  those 
who  have  themselves  practiced  bazaar  preaching  to,  or 
religious  discussion  with,  a  Mohammedan  audieuce — 
how  supremely  great  the  trial  to  good-temper  and 
equanimity  can  be ! 

It  may  take  a  dozen  different  forms — the  least  dif- 
ficult one,  though  also  trying,  of  open  abuse  and  up- 
roar— or  that  of  subtle  innuendo  or  bitter  jest — or  that 
of  an  invincible,  hopeless  unfairness  and  obstinacy  in 
dealing  with  every  single  question,  every  single  point, 
that  may  arise — or  many  more. 

But  most  certain  it  is  that  any  one  who  sets  his  hand 
to  this  work  at  all  must  lay  his  account  for  having  his 
patience  and  good  temper  tried  to  the  utmost  degree 
possible,  and  must  also  remember  that  here  at  any  rate 


Preparation  of  Workers  219 

victory — the  victory  over  oneself— is  essential.  Meek- 
ness, forbearance,  good -temper,  are  qualities  which  the 
East  always  ranks  very  high  amongst  those  which 
should  characterize  the  religious  teacher,  and  surely 
they  have  a  perfect  right  to  demand  them  of  the  follow- 
ers of  Him  who  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again  ;  of  Him  who  defined,  once  and  for  all,  the  essen- 
tial characteristics  of  His  true  disciples  in  the  terms  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

It  is,  I  fear,  unfortunately  true  that  they  are  virtues 
which,  in  some  aspects  at  any  rate,  do  not  come  nearly 
as  easily  to  the  Western  as  to  the  Eastern,  and  possi- 
bly for  this  reason  we  are  tempted  to  condone  in  some 
measure,  our  all  too  frequent  failures  in  them.  But 
this  is  wholly  wrong.  Let  us  recognize  that  as  a  most 
elementary  and  obvious  qualification  for  this  work — 
without  which  we  have  no  right  to  engage  in  it  at  all 
— there  must  be  the  real  mastery  of  our  own  temper, 
the  thorough  self-control,  the  keeping  oneself  under  all 
provocations  thoroughly  in  hand.  It  is  one  of  the 
truest  and  most  distinctive  marks  of  the  discipleship 
in  which  we  serve,  and  invariably  produces  its  efiect 
upon  the  crowd.  I  suspect  it  might  not  be  much  to 
say  that  if — per  impossible — an  analysis  could  be  ob- 
tained of  the  ultimate  causes  of  such  conversions  as 
have  taken  place  as  the  result  of  bazaar  preaching,  or 
discussion  of  this  kind  with  Mohammedans,  it  would 
be  found  that  in  a  majority  of  cases  what  had  first  com- 
mended the  truth  to  the  conscience  of  the  individual 
had  been,  not  the  intellectual  ability  or  force  with 
which  it  had  been  presented,  but  the  good  temper  and 


220        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

kindliness  of  the  preacher  in  the  face  of  bitter  opposi- 
tion and  insult.  While  on  the  other  hand,  nothing 
need  be  said  to  show  how  fatal  to  the  cause  which  we 
represent  is  any  failure  in  this  respect. 

No  recipe  can  be  given  for  attaining  the  temper  thus 
commended.  It  must  be  the  outcome  of  the  training 
of  the  life,  and  of  the  continual  habit  of  self-mastery, 
self-control,  coming,  of  course,  moreover,  far  more 
easily  to  some  dispositions,  some  temperaments,  than 
to  other.  But,  whether  easily  or  with  difficulty,  it 
must  he  attained. 

As  one  very  little  hint,  I  may  perhaps  say  that  I 
have  myself  on  more  than  one  occasion  smothered  an 
openly  abusive  opponent  by  heaping  upon  him  in  re- 
turn those  honorifics,  and  expressions  of  overflowing 
courtesy,  in  which  Eastern  languages  are  characteris- 
tically abundant.  An  element  of  irony  may  no  doubt 
enter  into  their  use  at  such  a  time,  but  if  this  is  done 
good-humouredly,  the  fancy  of  the  crowd  is  usually 
tickled  by  the  ludicrous  contrast  between  the  coin 
which  the  Mohammedan  champion  is  tendering,  and 
that  in  which  he  is  being  repaid,  with  results  which 
prove  infinitely  more  disconcerting  to  him  than  any 
violence  of  retort  could  possibly  have  done — to  secure 
which  indeed  has  been  his  chief  hope  and  aim. 

4.  Never  lose  hope  for  an  instant,  be  always  sure  that 
you  are  on  the  winning  side.  So  often  one  is  tempted 
to  resume  the  work  rather  as  a  duty,  in  ordinary 
routine,  than  with  any  real  hope  and  expectation  of 
seeing  definite  results  from  it.  But  this  is  simple  fail- 
ure of  faith.     If  we  do  indeed  believe — in  our  very 


Preparation  of  Workers  221 

hearts  and  lives— that  we  serve  a  living  and  reigning 
Lord — if  we  are  sure  that  all  authority  has  been  com- 
mitted to  Him  in  heaven  and  earth,  that  He  has  over- 
come the  world,  that  moreover  He  is  with  us  all  the 
days  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  how  can  we  possi- 
bly doubt  what  the  outcome  of  it  all  is  to  be — whether 
we,  personally  and  individually,  are  permitted  to  see 
much  of  the  great  end,  the  glorious  victory,  or  not? 
No  motto,  I  think,  better  becomes  the  banner  of  those 
who  are  engaged  in  this  warfare  than  the  triumphant 
cry— with  its  trumpet-like  ring— of  St.  John,  "  This  is 
the  victory  which  hath  overcome  the  world,  even  our 
Faith." 

And  remember  in  thus  feeling  perfectly  sure  that  we 
are  on  the  winning  side,  we  are  only  reechoing  a  note 
which  sounds  often  and  deeply  amongst  Mohammedans 
themselves,  for,  as  we  know,  they  give  expression  in 
not  a  few  ways  to  the  conviction — so  sad,  as  they  think, 
for  them — that  in  the  end  the  Cross  will  win. 

Let  this  hopefulness  then  be  a  continual  mark  of  our 
words  and  temper,  and  to  promote  it,  when  it  seems 
specially  difficult,  let  me  commend  to  you  those  singu- 
larly beautiful  and  inspiring  stanzas  of  Clough's  : 

"Say  not  the  straggle  nonght  availeth, 
The  labour  and  the  wounds  are  vain, 
The  enemy  faints  not,  nor  faileth, 
And.  as  things  have  been  they  remain. 

"  If  hopes  vrere  dupes,  feara  may  be  liars; 
It  may  be  in  yon  smoke  concealed, 
Your  comrades  chase  e'en  now  the  fliers, 
And,  but  for  you,  possess  the  field. 


222        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

"For  while  the  tired  waves,  vainly  breaking, 
Seem  here  no  painful  inch  to  gain, 
Far  back,  through  creeks  and  inlets  making. 
Comes  silent,  flooding  in,  the  main. 

"And  not  by  eastern  windows  only, 

When  daylight  comes,  comes  in  the  light, 
In  front,  the  sun  climbs  slow,  how  slowly. 
But  westward,  look,  the  land  is  bright," 

I  have  dealt  now  with  the  moral  and  spiritnal  quali- 
fications to  which  I  wish  to  call  special  attention.  It 
only  remains  to  refer  shortly  to  reasons  which  seem  to 
me  to  make  some  quite  distinctive  course  of  intellectual 
preparation  so  very  incumbent  on  all  who  desire  to 
give  themselves  to  this  work,  and  so  certain  in  fruitful 
result. 

First  of  all  I  would  say,  to  put  it  quite  shortly,  it  is 
incumbent  upon  us  because  it  is  so  essentially  practi- 
cable and  possible.  Of  the  study  of  Hinduism,  I  know, 
myself,  nothing  whatever,  and  of  course  I  may  in  my 
ignorance  be  exaggerating  the  difficulties  which  it 
really  presents  to  a  wise  and  methodical  student.  But 
I  confess  that,  viewing  it  thus  from  outside,  I  always 
feel  appalled  at  its  vastness — shall  I  say,  its  vagueness! 
— and  at  the  supreme  difficulty  of  really  coming  to 
grips  with  it.  But  I  do  not  think  that  this  objection 
can  be  urged  with  any  truth  -whatever  to  the  study  of 
Mohammedanism. 

First  of  all,  of  course,  there  is  the  study  of  the 
Quran  itself— I  mean  the  simple  mastery  of  the  Arabic. 
It  must  be  assumed  that  this  is  not  beyond  the  intellec- 
tual ability  of  those  whose  preparation  we  are  discuss- 


Preparation  of  Workers  223 

ing,  but  in  and  by  itself  the  power  which  it  gives  ua 
in  dealing  with  Mohammedans  is  perfectly  extraordi- 
nary, I  speak  with  reticence  on  the  point  lest  it 
should  be  thought  that  I  know  Arabic  myself.  I  know 
practically  nothing  whatever  of  it,  having  forgotten 
the  little  I  once  knew.  But  during  the  short  time  in 
Delhi  in  which  I  was  giving  myself  to  the  careful  lit- 
erary study  of  it,  hoping  to  become  really  acquainted 
with  it— before  the  call  came  to  me  to  enter  on  other 
and  all-engrossing  pursuits — I  used  to  be  fairly  aston- 
ished at  the  increasing  power  which  one  seemed  to  get 
with  every  fresh  Sura,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say 
every  fresh  verse,  that  one  read.  Some  opportunity 
of  using  it  seemed  to  invariably  come  almost  at  once, 
and  the  fact  that  one  was  able  thus  to  refer  to  it,  in- 
stantly deepened  the  hold  that  one  was  able  to  get  on 
one's  listeners.  This  study  of  course  comes  first  of 
all. 

But  then,  in  the  second  line,  the  really  authoritative 
books— the  Darsi  Kitaben  as  they  are  called  in  Delhi, 
I  know  not  how  far  the  term  is  a  standard  one — are 
so  comparatively  few,  so  universally  recognized  and 
so  manageable  for  any  real  student. 

If,  as  commentaries,  one  had  got  some  real  hold  of 
two — Beidhawi  and  Jalalin — if  in  addition  to  them  one 
was  fairly  well  acquainted,  on  the  side  of  traditional 
lore,  with  just  the  Sahihain — Bokhari  and  Moslem,  I 
can  not  help  thinking,  though  I  have  scarcely  any 
right  to  express  an  opinion  in  a  scholarly  matter  of  this 
kind,  that  one  would  occupy  a  position  of  very  great 
strength  indeed,  and  be  able  at  any  rate  to  secure  for 


224        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

the  truth  which  -we  bring  a  measure  of  respectful  con- 
sideration which  would  be  of  supremest  value. 

I  cannot  elaborate  the  point,  but  it  is  this  conviction 
which  I  entertain  of  the  entire  practicability  of  some 
real  acquaintance  with  Mohammedan  literature  and 
theology,  that  has  in  my  mind  accentuated  the  impor- 
tance of  securing  it,  and  has  also  made  me  so  deeply 
deplore  the  wide-spread  absence  of  it  amongst  so  very 
many  of  those  who  have  hitherto  given  themselves  to 
this  work.  Not  infrequently  during  my  years  in  Delhi, 
when  I  wanted  to  refer  to  some  tradition  which  I  knew 
existed  in  one  of  the  well-known  collections,  but  the 
exact  source  of  which  I  did  not  know,  it  was  a  cause  of 
real  pain  to  me— and,  as  I  thought,  a  reproach  to  the 
missionary  cause — that  there  was  scarcely  a  single  mis- 
sionary, so  far  as  I  knew,  in  upper  India,  to  whom  I 
could  turn  for  the  needed  reference — not  more  than  two 
or  three  indeed  in  the  whole  of  India,  and  to  them  I 
sometimes  turned  in  vain.  Surely  this  reproach  ought 
to  be  wiped  away. 

Secondly,  there  is  the  fact  that  some  scholarly  and 
fairly  wide  study  of  this  kind  is  essential  as  the  intel- 
lectual counterpart  of  that  general  moral  attitude  of 
sympathy  and  fairness  on  which  I  have  already  laid  pri- 
mary stress.  In  order  to  be  able  effectively  to  lead,  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  the  full  truth  as  it  is 
in  Christ  Jesus,  those  to  whom  we  are  sent,  it  is  of  im- 
mense importance  that  we  should  understand  pretty 
clearly  the  point  which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  they 
have  already  reached,  the  elements  of  truth  which  they 
already  hold,  and  the  general  texture  and  colour  of 


Preparation  of  Workers  225 

their  thought.  It  is,  for  the  most  part,  only  by  hav- 
ing done  this  in  some  true  measure  that  we  shall  be 
able  to  present  to  them  the  sacred  message  with  which 
we  are  ourselves  charged,  in  a  "  tongue  understanded 
of  the  people." 

I  cannot  say  how  lamentably  great  has  been,  in  my 
opinion,  our  failure  in  the  past  to  do  this — to  put  our- 
selves, I  mean,  first  by  some  degree  of  brotherly  sym- 
pathy, love  and  insight,  on  to  the  platform  which  they 
occupy,  in  order  thus  to  lead  them  on  with  us  up  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  truth  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Most  of  the  older  controversial  literature,  on  the 
Christian  side  is,  I  think — with  all  that  it  contains  of 
valuable  and  true — very  hard  indeed,  as  though  in- 
tended rather  to  confute  the  enemy  than  to  win  the  dis- 
guised friend.  Similarly  much  of  our  preaching  seems 
to  me  rather  as  though  we  were  hoping  to  convert  men 
by  throwing  brick-bats  at  them,  in  the  form  of  truth. 
You  may  knock  a  man  down  by  this  process — you 
often  do — but  I  much  doubt  whether  the  resulting 
frame  of  mind  is  very  favourable  to  conversion.  I  cer- 
tainly do  not  think  it  would  be  in  my  own  case. 

I,  however,  most  thankfully  recognize  that  a  new 
spirit — and,  in  this  respect  at  any  rate,  a  more  Christ- 
like one — is  making  itself  felt  in  our  literature,  and — 
as  I  fully  believe — in  much  of  our  preaching  as  well. 
In  the  department  of  literature  I  would  call  special  at- 
tention to  the  two  most  valuable  little  books,  as  I  es- 
teem them.  Sweet  First-Fruits  and  The  Beacon  of  Truth. 
Alike  in  spirit  and  in  method  they  seem  to  me  to  be 
quite  admirable.     I  know  of  no  books  that  I  believe 


226        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

may  be  more  \risely,  and  Trith  greater  hope  of  allaying 
prejudice  and  winning  a  favourable  consideration  for 
the  truth,  given  to  Mohammedan  enquirers  than  these. 

In  this  connection  I  should  like  also  to  refer  to  Arch- 
bishop Trench's  invaluable  course  of  Hulsean  Lectures 
for  1846,  on  Christ  the  Desire  of  all  Nations;  or,  The 
Unconscious  Prophecies  of  Heathendom.  Would  that 
every  Christian  apologist  working  amongst  non-Chris- 
tian people  were  steeped  alike  in  the  spirit  and  in  the 
method  of  those  lectures.  I  can  imagine  scarcely  any 
more  valuable  preparation  for  the  work  we  have  in 
view. 

In  the  matter  of  preaching  also  we  are  beginning  to 
see  a  new  departure  in  this  respect.  Thus  in  the  Pun- 
jab itself  there  is  a  well-known  convert  from  Moham- 
medanism, a  good  Arabic  scholar  and  a  man  of 
marked  ability  and  earnestness,  whose  attitude  towards 
the  faith  he  has  left  is  markedly  different  from,  as  it  is 
far  more  generous  and  large-hearted  than,  most  of  those 
who  have  preceded  him  into  our  faith.  He  not  only 
entirely  declines  to  attack  Mohammed  or,  in  most  re- 
spects, his  creed,  but  he  distinctly  claims  him  as  the 
''schoolmaster"  who  has  brought  him  to  Christ.  I 
think  it  very  possible  that  he  goes  really  somewhat  too 
far  in  this  direction,  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  has 
brought  upon  himself  in  consequence  much  suspicion 
as  to  his  orthodoxy  on  the  part  of  other  Christians  in 
the  diocese.  Yet  for  my  own  part  I  welcome  with  my 
whole  heart  this  novel  attitude,  as  not  only  far  more 
liberal,  and  therefore  wise,  in  itself,  but  as  beyond  all 
telling  more  calculated  to  win  to  the  truth  those  to 


Preparation  of  Workers  227 

whom  he  addresses  himself.  We  are  watching  his 
coui'se  with  the  utmost  interest  and  sympathy,  and  I 
personally  believe  that,  if  he  is  sustained  by  the  grace 
of  God,  there  is  a  career  of  the  utmost  value  and  use- 
fulness before  him. 

On  all  these  grounds  then,  spiritual,  moral,  and  in- 
tellectual alike,  I  attach  the  utmost  importance  to  a 
really  thorough  and  well-devised  scheme  of  training  for 
those  who  propose  to  devote  their  lives  to  work  amongst 
Mohammedans,  and  I  shall  most  truly  thank  God  if 
some  such  is  established  as  the  outcome,  or  one  of  the 
outcomes,  of  this  conference. 

Discussion 

Dr.  Jessup  testified  to  the  value  of  the  Beacon  of 
Truth. 

Mr.  Finney  said  in  a  recent  visit  to  mission-stations 
up  and  down  the  Nile  he  had  found  many  Moslems 
talking  intelligently  of  the  gospel  who  had  got  their 
knowledge  from  elders  of  the  church  whom  they  had 
met  in  social  life.  One  said  to  him,  "There  are  many 
of  us  who  know  the  truth,"  and  he  believes  that  some 
day  they  will  have  courage  to  confess  it. 

Bishop  Warne  said  they  have  introduced  a  summer 
school  for  native  agents.  One  hundred  to  three  hun- 
dred workers  are  put  through  a  course  of  preparation 
and  sent  back  to  work  for  a  year.  They  are  then 
brought  back  for  six  weeks'  more  training. 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  he  and  his  colleague  had  used 
Ramadhan  for  the  last  four  years  as  a  time  for  a 
month's  training  for  Moslem   controversy,  studying 


228        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

the  Koran,  Traditions,  Mezar  el  Hakk,  etc.,  going  over 
them  carefully.  This  keeps  the  agents  busy  when 
they  cannot  be  at  work. 

Dr.  Weitbrecht  said  that  it  is  better  far  to  have  no 
native  agents  than  to  have  one  who  is  not  fit  for  his 
work.  Spiritual  men  for  spiritual  work  are  a  neces- 
sity. Eveiy  time  we  depart  from  this  rule  we  regret 
it,  and  such  an  agent  may  be  a  permanent  hindrance 
and  very  difficult  to  get  rid  of. 

Mr.  Bodds,  speaking  of  publications,  asked  for  a 
list  of  six  or  eight  books  as  preparation  of  workers  for 
work  amongst  Moslems. 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  Dr.  Tisdall's  list  of  Moslem  objec- 
tions to  Christianity  is  most  valuable — but  for  workers 
we  must  go  to  the  soui'ce — i.  e.,  Koran  and  Tradi- 
tions. 

Dr.  Weitbrecht  suggested  Canon  Sell's  Historical  De- 
velopment of  the  Kora7i,  which  could  be  had  with  a 
translation  of  the  Koran. 

Mr.  Anderson  asked  for  an  expression  of  opinion, 
whether  in  Moslem  lands  each  missionary  should  not 
have  to  take  a  course  of  study  in  the  problems  which 
face  him,  and  in  the  Arabic  language  and  the  religious 
ideas  of  Moslems. 

Dr.  Zwemer  said  this  is  embodied  in  the  appeal  and 
report. 

Dr.  Weitbrecht  also  mentioned  the  second  edition  of 
The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation  Compared  tcith  Hin- 
duism and  Mohammedanism,  by  Dr.  Hooper. 

After  prayer  by  Mr.  Carter,  Mr.  Eddy,  of  the  T.  M. 
0.  A.  in  India,  spoke  on  the  Students  of  the  Orient. 


Preparation  of  Workers  229 

Mr.  Eddy  told  how  the  S.  V.  M.  U.  in  Jaffna,  Ceylon, 
gave  birth  to  the  new  missionary  society  to  send  mis- 
sionaries to  South  India  to  the  Moslems. 

Growing  out  of  the  same  movement  the  young  men 
in  Tinnevelly  founded  the  missionary  society  of  Tiu- 
nevelly.  At  first  this  was  intended  for  the  Tamil 
field,  but  finding  there  was  no  place  where  their  com- 
ing would  not  be  resented,  they  went  to  Hyderabad 
and  opened  a  mission  there.  At  the  end  of  six  months 
there  were  already  many  enquirers. 

In  one  place  of  15,000  Christians,  the  native  church 
is  self-supporting  (in  Tinnevelly)  and  the  missionary's 
bungalow  is  empty,  the  work  being  carried  on  by 
native  pastors. 

Last  Christmas  Day  at  Serampore,  was  founded  the 
National  Missionary  Society  of  India  (including  Bur- 
mah  and  Ceylon),  in  the  room  formerly  occupied  by 
William  Carey.  It  would  have  done  Henry  Martyn's 
heart  good  to  see  Moslem  converts,  Brahmins  and  Hin- 
dus, high  and  low,  forming  this  Indian  missionary 
society  to  evangelize  India  and  neighboui'ing  lands 
such  as  Afghanistan. 

Each  man  is  loyal  to  his  own  church,  and  men  and 
money  are  already  coming  in.  One  man  whose  son 
was  shortly  to  return  from  a  European  university  said 
if  his  son  would  go  he  would  support  him  ;  if  not,  he 
would  support  another  in  his  place. 

God  has  begun  to  lay  the  burden  of  evangelization 
on  the  Indian.  We  shall  never  be  relieved  of  our 
responsibility  of  laying  the  burden  on  the  native 
church.     Our  work  would   never  succeed  unless  our 


230        Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

few  missionaries  are  supplemented  by  large  numbers 
of  native  missionaries. 

The  second  message  of  hope  is  the  message  of  Bevival 
beginning  in  Assam  ;  it  is  breaking  out  already  in 
twenty  places.  The  Punjab  is  ripe  for  it.  In  one 
college  it  is  arranged  for  every  man  to  be  interviewed 
about  Christianity  in  his  first  term.  In  West  India 
and  South  India  many  have  been  praying  for  this  re- 
vival for  seven  years.  The  battle  must  be  spiritual. 
Some  one  said,  "The  hope  of  the  Moslem  world  is  in 
this  room."  If  so,  a  fearful  responsibility  rests  with 
us.  It  is  a  matter  of  quality  and  of  faith.  It  largely 
depends  upon  ourselves  and  the  kind  of  lives  we  are 
living.  Last  Sunday  he  stood  where  our  Lord  wept 
over  Jerusalem  but  near  the  spot  where  He  also  lifted 
up  His  eyes  over  the  world  and  said,  "Tarry,  until  ye 
be  endued  with  power  from  on  high,"  to  make  such 
men  as  God  cau  use.  Are  we  such,  that  God  can  trust 
usi 


XV 

THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  AND  ISLAM 

Rev,  S.  M.  Zwemee,  D,  D. 
In  the  absence  of  Mr.  John  E.  Mott,  who  had  been 
expected  to  present  this  topic,  but  was  unable  to  be 
present,  Dr.  Zwemer  spoke  extemporaneously,  urging 
the  following  points  :  (a)  In  the  last  analysis  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  Mohammedan  world  depends,  under 
God,  on  an  army  of  volunteers  prepared  to  do  pioneer 
work  and  ready  to  sacrifice  life  itself,  if  need  be,  to 
enter  and  occupy  Moslem  lauds.  (&)  The  organized 
Student  Volunteer  Movement  exists  for  this  very  pur- 
pose, viz.,  to  awaken  the  student  world  to  the  need  of 
the  non-Christian  world  and  urge  upon  them  the  call 
to  go.  (c)  Therefore  the  Cairo  Conference  has  a  special 
message  to  the  Student  Movement  and  that  message 
should  be  carried  to  the  universities  of  Europe  and 
America  by  every  delegate  present  in  every  way  pos- 
sible. On  the  other  hand  and  in  a  real  sense  the  Cairo 
Conference  is  one  of  the  results  of  the  Student  Volun- 
teer Movement  for  foreign  missions.  An  attempt  at  a 
general  survey  of  the  Mohammedan  world  (although 
inadequate  and  necessarily  inaccurate)  was  first  made 
at  the  Cleveland  Convention  of  the  S.  V.  M..  in 
1898.  This  survey  was  the  beginning  of  the  present 
conference  in  the  Providence  of  God.  It  is  the  motto 
of  the  Student  Movement  that  we  read  on  the  map  be- 

231 


232       Mission  Work  Among  Moslems 

fore  us :  The  Evangelization  of  the  Moslem  World  in  thi» 
Generation.  This  same  map  carried  its  message  to 
the  thousands  of  students  at  the  Nashville  Convention 
in  February  last.  And  our  appeal  to  the  Student 
Volunteers  will  not  fall  on  deaf  ears. 

Mr.  Zwemer  then  read  some  paragraphs  from  the 
report  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  during  the 
past  decade  by  John  E.  Mott  as  presented  at  the  Nash- 
ville Convention. 


BIBLE  LANDS 
MISSIONS'   AID   SOCIETY, 


A  Few  Facts  About  it. 


Its 


President— Tn^  Right  Hon.  Earl  of  Aberdeen. 
Vice  Fresideni— Sir  Wm.  Muir,  K.C.S.I.,  LL.D. 
Treasurer — The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Kinnaird. 
Late  Hon.  Sec. — Rev.  W.  A.  Esseky. 
Secretary — Rev.  S.  W.  Gentle-Cackett. 

The  idea  of  such  a  Society  was  first  ex- 
.   .  pressed   in  the  house  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cyrus 

o     '  HamUn   of  Constantinople   when  he  was 

entertaining  certain  English  Christian  travellers  who,  in  visit- 
ing the  Crimean  War  scenes  had  been  struck  by  the  work  of 
the  American  Mission  in  Turkey.  The  idea,  brought  to  Eng- 
land by  one  of  the  travellers,  immediately  struck  root,  and  on 
the  third  of  July,  1854,  "  The  Turkish  Missions'  Aid  Society" 
was  duly  launched  at  a  public  meeting  in  the  Lower  Exeter 
Hall ;  Earl  Shaftesbury  occupied  the  chair  as  President  of  the 
new  and  unique  Missionary  Society  ;  he  held  the  post  till  his 

death.  

J.      pjpifi  At  first  the  Turkish  Empire  was  its  area  of 

J     .  .  operations  ;  which  has  since  been  enlarged 

and  now  includes  the  Bible  Lands  of  Greece, 
Macedonia,  Asia  Minor,  Persia,  Arabia,  Egypt,  Palestine  and 
Syria.  These  countries  have  a  population  of  over  30,000,000  ; 
about  five  millions  belonging  to  the  old  Christian  sects,  the  re- 
mainder being  Moslems.  According  to  Sir  Wm.  Muir,  "The 
Sword  of  Mahomet,  and  the  Coran,  are  the  most  stubborn 
enemies  of  civilization,  liberty  and  truth  which  the  world  has 
yet  known,"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Jessup  of  Bey  rout  affirms  that  the 
old  Christian  sects  "  all  hold  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
of  baptismal  regeneration,  priestly  absolution,  mariolatry,  and 
saint-worship,  image  and  picture  worship,  auricular  confession. 


234       Bible  Lands  Missions'  Aid  Society 

and  prayers  for  the  dead."  The  aim  of  this  Society  is  to  lend 
a  helping  hand  to  the  evangelical  missionaries,  who  are  seek- 
ing by  evangehzation  to  overthrow  this  gigantic  mass  of  deadly 
error,  and  to  regain  these  lands  for  Christ. 

Its  Source*!  Being    absolutely    undenominational,    the 

-  _  Society  has  no  organized  body  on  which  to 

of  Income.  ,    r     •  t»  u         r  ,.  u    i 

rely  for  mcome.     It  has  to  fall  back  upon 

the  common  obligation  of  Christians  of  every  name  to  further 

the  evangelization  of  the  world.     It  urges  the  peculiar  claim 

of  these  Lands  upon  all  who  love  the  Bible  and  have  benefited 

by  its   Holy  teachings.     Funds  are  received  from   Donors  to 

special  objects,  from  auxiliaries  and  individual  Collectors,  from 

occasional  collections  ;  our  chiefest  source  consists  of  regular 

annual  subscriptions  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

It  Aids  ^°  grants  are  made  to  the  foreign  mission- 

T      f-  ^"^^   ^"    Bible   Lands,    but   the    Society's 

^  ■   strong  point  is  to  give  help  to  the  native 

labourers  who  are  publishing  the  Glad  Tidings  to  their  fellow 
countrymen.  There  are  over  500  of  these  recognized  workers, 
pastors,  preachers,  and  Bible-women  scattered  abroad  and 
under  missionary  oversight.  Our  aids  are  of  the  highest 
service  to  these  humble  pioneers,  who  are  preparing  in  the 
desert  a  highway  for  our  God.  Without  these  aids  many 
villagers  would  be  in  total  darkness,  many  a  pastor  would  end 
his  labours  and  many  a  Bible-woman  would  cease  to  read  the 
words  of  eternal  hfe  to  her  ignorant  and  degraded  sisters. 

It  AiHs  Children's  schools  are  now  a  very  power- 

_  ,  .  ful  arm  for  uplifting  the  sunken  races  of 

Education.  1  •  j    .u-    •  n    .         r  .1     j 

mankmd  ;  this  is  specially  true  of  the  de- 
generate inhabitants  of  Bible  Lands.  Many  hundreds  of 
elementary  mission  schools  exist  in  Egypt,  Syria,  Asia  Minor, 
Turkey-in-Europe,  and  in  all  the  Bible  is  taught  and  ex- 
pounded. There  are  high  schools,  boarding  schools,  and  even 
colleges.     Seminaries  are  at  work  training  converted   young 


Bible  Lands  Missions'  Aid  Society      235 

men  to  become  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  Every  year  a  portion 
of  our  income  is  devoted  to  aiding  these  varied  institutions. 
The  effect  on  the  condition  of  women  is  marvellous.  Fifty 
years  ago  in  Central  Turkey  only  one  woman  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000  could  read,  wives  and  daughters  were  treated  as 
menials  ;  now  in  thousands  of  households  by  education,  women 
have  been  raised  to  their  true  equality  with  men. 

T>.  A-j     ««•   J-      1  These  missions,  humane  and  beneficent  in 

It  Aids  Medical    ,         ,        ,         r      ,   ■     ,  ^  ■       u. 

.  themselves,  have   for  their  definite  object 

Missions.  ^j^g    spreading   abroad   of  the   Gospel   of 

Christ.  They  are  meant  to  soften  and  prepare  men's  hearts, 
that  the  good  seed  may  be  sown  into  good  soil.  Our  aids  to 
medical  work  are  sent  to  Arabia,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  etc.  One 
Missionary  writes,  "  Your  favour  of  last  year  was  used  in 
dispensary  work,  it  enables  us  to  secure  very  eligible  quarters 
in  the  crowded  quarters  in  Busrah ;  thus  we  have  two  dis- 
pensaries in  good  working  order  chiefly  through  your  aid.  Out 
of  749  patients  in  May,  420  were  Moslems."  Another  says, 
"  Hospital  work  brings  Christian  truth,  not  merely  to  those  who 
are  seeking  it,  but  even  to  those  that  are  hostile.  There  is  no 
other  agency  for  preaching  the  Gospel  that  finds  so  open  a  road 
into  the  human  heart." 

We  plead  for  Medical  Missions  where  parents  have  no  other 
treatment  for  themselves  and  their  children  than  that  of  the 
branding-iron  or  charms. 

Tt   Air1<5  thp  From  the  beginning  of  the  Society's  ex- 

istence  the  persecuted  for  Christ's  sake 
have  looked  to  us  for  relief.  During  the 
late  massacre  we  responded  to  hundreds  of  cases.  One  of  the 
native  pastors  unjustly  thrown  into  prison,  was  supported  for 
over  two  years  and  his  wife  and  children,  by  our  exertions. 
Quite  lately  an  appeal  came  on  behalf  of  ten  innocent  prisoners 
in  Eastern  Turkey,  and  not  in  vain  :  we  sent  once  and  again  to 
feed  and  clothe  these  confessors  of  the  Cross,  Ever  and  anon 
we  are  called  to  befriend  Christ's  persecuted  ones, 


236      Bible  Lands  Missions'  Aid  Society 

Tt  A'H     fh  Upwards  of  £12,000  were  received  and  dis- 

bursed  for  relief  and  orphanage  work,  on 
"  '  account  of  the  Armenian  massacre.     Over 

£1,400  were  also  dispatched  last  year  for  the  relief  of  the  suf- 
ferers in  Macedonia,  and  £700  to  the  orphans.  The  chief 
portion  of  the  latter  went  towards  establishing  the  first  Protes- 
tant Orphanage  in  Macedonia,  which  bears  the  name  of  the 
"  Essery  Memorial  Orphanage "  in  memory  of  our  beloved 
Secretary.  These  funds  have  been  an  immeasurable  blessing 
to  thousands  of  the  poor  persecuted  race  who  have  thanked 
God  for  the  relief  we  have  sent  them.  Hundreds  of  massacre- 
orphans  have  been  sheltered,  fed,  clothed  and  educated  by 
our  donors  and  subscribed.     This  work  is  not  yet  finished. 


Tt   NppH«5  ^^  have  been  obliged  to  tell  the  mission- 

aries  in  charge  of  the  orphans  hitherto  sup- 
"  '  ported  by  us,  that  our  fund  is  run  dry,  that 
we  have  already  sent  them  all  the  money  we  have,  that  there 
is  little  prospect  of  a  rising  tide,  this  is  sad,  sad  news  for  many 
an  orphanage  ;  who  will  come  to  our  rescue  !  Five  pounds  a 
year  will  provide  all  the  needs  of  an  orphan  in  Armenia,  but  in 
Macedonia  the  cost  is  six  pounds.  Large  gifts  are  required, 
either  individual  or  collective.  We  need  help  for  the  spiritual 
work,  for  the  self-denying  native  labours  of  every  kind.  With- 
out our  aid  school  doors  will  be  shut,  medical  mission  work  will 
languish,  churches  will  be  left  without  preachers,  Bible-women 
will  be  dismissed,  the  work  of  our  Lord  will  stagnate,  and  souls 
will  pass  hence  without  salvation.  Our  Society  needs  a  large 
accession  of  new  and  enthusiastic  helpers. 

We  beg  of  you  "  Hold  tbe  ropes  "  while  our  Brothers  and  Sisters 
"  at  the  other  end  "  proclaim  tbe  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 

N.B. — Further  information  on  the  Society's  work  may  be  obtained  in 
"The  Star  in  the  East  "  sent  free.  Subscriptions  and  donations 
should  be  sent  to  Rev,  S.  W.  Gentle-Cackett,  Secretary,  Bible 
Lands  Missions'  Aid  Society,  Alliance  House,  7,  Adam  Street, 
Strand,  London,  fV.C, 


Date  Due 


»P  26  "39 

$ 

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1    1012  01100  6568 


